Younger Brother
by 1234BlueLagoon
Summary: One of the turtles makes the ultimate sacrifice. However, another brother will not believe it. He sets out to find his missing brother, and finds...what no one could have ever expected. How much trouble can one seven year old turtle be?
1. The Greatest Sacrifice

_Hello there! One small a/n: this author likes constructive criticism, so please do not hesitate if you have any!_

* * *

CHAPTER ONE

"Hurry it up, Donnie!" called out Leonardo, "I don't think they can last much longer!"

"I'm trying, Leo!" said Donatello from his position next to his brother, "But I just whipped up this airplane last week! I'm still getting used to how she flies!"

Leo's shellcell beeped, and he quickly answered.

"Are you guys here yet?" asked Mikey over the cell.

"Almost, Mikey," said Leo, "We're approaching the freighter now."

"We're going to have to make this as quick as possible," said Donatello, speaking into his brother's shellcell while flying the plane, "Be ready to hop aboard the second that the plane flies by."

"Got it."

"Are the ship's controls jammed?"

"Yeah, Raph is taking care of that now," said Mikey, "I'll tell him the plan. See you soon!"

"Let's just hope that the Purple Dragons are all unconscious out by the time we pass over the ship," said Donnie, "I don't want to tangle with them in this contraption."

"Right," said Leo, "There's the ship!"

"And there are our brothers," said Donnie, "This is going to be close!"

Within seconds, the airplane flew down low over the freighter, just close enough that two mutant turtles could jump onto the left wing as they flew past.

"They made it!" said Donnie.

"Good," said Leo, obviously relieved, "That was a job well done, Donnie. Let's bring 'em in."

Leo opened the airplane door and noted with satisfaction that Raph was using his sais to crawl his way up the wing of the airplane.

"Hey Mikey, ya need any help?" Raph offered.

"Um, sure bro," said Mikey, clinging helplessly to the wing. The one problem with nunchucks was that they had no sharp points for climbing on airplane wings.

"I'll help you, Mikey," Leo offered, yelling so that his voice could be heard.

Using his ninja skills to walk across the wing, Leo grabbed Mikey's hand and began leading him back towards the fuselage, where Raph was already waiting for them.

"One step at a time, Mikey," Raph said to them.

"Great," said Mikey, looking a little greener than usual, "Thanks, guys."

Suddenly, Mikey slipped.

"Mikey!" called out Leo and Raph.

Instantly, Leo reached out and grabbed his brother by the hand, just barely preventing him from falling off the wing of the airplane.

"Hang on!" He shouted, "I'm going to throw you into the plane!"

"Why do I get the feeling that's not a _good _thing?" asked Mikey, groaning as he held onto his brother with one hand while watching his other three limbs dangle towards the ocean below.

"One…two…three!" called out Leo, and he threw his brother towards the open door of the airplane.

Raph managed to catch Mikey, but instantly cried out and threw him aside.

"Hey!" said Mikey as he landed roughly on the floor of the fuselage.

"LEO!" called out Raph as he jumped out of the plane.

"Wait, what happened?" asked Mikey, running to the door that had just been vacated by Raph.

Leo was clearly off balance, about to fall off the airplane.

"I'm comin', Leo!" called out Raph.

Just a second before Leo actually fell, Raph grabbed him by the shell and hauled him back onto the wing.

"Thanks, Raph," said Leo.

"Right," said Raph.

"Guys!" Mikey called out from inside the plane, "Donnie says we've got company!"

"What kind?" asked Raph.

"The purple dragon variety!" said Mikey, "They're coming up in small boats!"

"Hurry, we'd better get back inside," said Leo.

"Too late!" said Raph as a bullet grazed his shoulder.

"Mikey, get back inside!" called out Leo.

"What?" asked Mikey.

Great. _Now _he couldn't hear them.

"Go, get outta here," said Raph, pushing Leo forward.

Together they made their way across the airplane wing.

"Hurry!" Donnie's voice came loud and clear over the plane's inner intercom, "Get inside, guys! They're packing heavy weapons!"

With a grunt, Raph pushed Leo into the fuselage, knocking over Mikey in the process.

"Hurry, Donnie!" called out Leo as Raph came inside the airplane, "Get us out of here!"

Leo ran up to the cockpit, while Mikey stood by Raph, who was attempting to close the open door.

"It won't budge!" Raph called out, "This stinkin' door won't close!"

"It has to!" said Mikey, "If any of the purple dragons shoots into the open door-"

"I know, I know!" said Raph.

"Hurry, Raph, you have to close that door!" said Donnie over the intercom.

"I'm trying!" said Raph, straining against his will.

"He's trying, but it's stuck," Mikey said, pressing the button on the intercom that would allow him to talk to Leo and Don. He then turned back to his brother at the open door.

"Let me help," Mikey said to Raph.

"No!" said Raph, "Stay away from the door! They're still shooting at us, Mikey!"

"Stay away yourself!" said Mikey.

"Raph, the door!" called out Leo through the intercom.

Mikey pressed the button on the intercom.

"Come on, Don, get us out of here!" he said.

"I can't!" replies Donnie, "They're all around us! And we can't get away from them unless we go to a higher or a lower altitude. And we can't do _that _as long as the door is open!"

"Raph, you have to hurry bro," said Mikey, "I'll help!"

"No, stay outta this!" said Raph, "I got this!"

"Leo, we need you!" said Mikey into the intercom.

"Give me a second, Mikey!" called out Leo on the other end of the intercom.

"Like he'll be able ta do anything," said Raph.

Suddenly, Raph stopped. He stepped back, away from the door.

"I know what the problem is," he said to Mikey, "I can fix this!"

"Great, and how are you going to do _that_?" asked Mikey, yelling to be heard over the wind and bullets rushing through the door.

"One sec," said Raph.

He ran to the back of the aircraft and grabbed an old stewardess cart that had been left in the airplane since before Donnie had taken out all the seats from the fuselage.

"Outta my way!" Raph called, pushing the cart in front of him.

"How will that fix the door?" asked his orange-wearing brother.

"It's not," said Raph, braving the bullets to push the cart all the way to the cockpit, "It's to fix the cockpit."

He took the cart and jammed it against the cockpit door, effectively blocking anyone inside from leaving.

"What?" asked Mikey.

Suddenly, Raph pulled out a sai and jabbed it into the intercom. Before Mikey could react, he then snatched his brother's shell cell and killed it with the same sai.

"RAPH!" called out Mikey, "What are you _doing_?"

"There's only one option left, Mikey," said Raph, "Tell them I love them. Father too."

"Raph, what are you planning?" asked Mikey, scared. Raph only called their Sensei 'father' on special occasions, and he hardly ever told anyone that he loved them.

But before Mikey could get an answer, Raph jumped out of the airplane, braving the many bullets, and stood out on the wing.

"Raph, come back!" called out Mikey.

"Trust me, Bro, this is the only way to close the door!" called out Raph, pushing the door closed from the outside, "I gotta do this, it's the only way!"

Mikey suddenly realized that he had been standing still far too long.

"Raph, wait!" he called out, running towards the closing door, "Raph, no!"

But the door slammed shut in his face.

Mikey tried to open it again, but it was sealed shut.

"RAPH!" called out Mikey.

He ran to the intercom, but it was too damaged to use. He turned to the cockpit itself, but Raph had blocked it too tightly for him to remove.

Climbing over the blockage, ignoring a few cuts he was gaining in the process, Mikey repeatedly began banging on the cockpit door.

"Don! Leo! Stop!" he called out, "RAPH IS OUTSIDE THE PLANE!"

Unfortunately, the reason there was an intercom was because Donnie had made the airplane soundproof. They couldn't hear him.

Suddenly, the plane lurched downwards. Because the door was closed, Donnie could now get away from the Purple Dragons.

And apparently the method Donnie chose was to try out his new airplane-to-submarine technique.

"RAPH!" called out Mikey, running to the window.

But it was too late. The airplane entered the water, and was rapidly plowing into the depths, far below the radar that the Purple Dragon's used. Even if Raph had held onto the wing, he could not survive for long if the plane was under water.

"Raph," said Mikey.

What could he do? He couldn't contact anyone…

He slumped against the side of the airplane, and unceremoniously landed on the floor.

"Sensei," he whispered.

"Phew, looks like we finally got away," said Leo, "I'll admit, when you dove into the a few minutes ago, I was a little shocked myself. I wish I could have seen those Purple Dragon's faces! That was some good maneuvering, Donnie."

"Thanks," said Don, "That was a close one. We never would have done it if Raph hadn't closed the door in time. Speaking of which, they've been quiet for a little too long. We'd better check on them."

"Hey Raph, you did good," said Leo into the intercom.

No response.

"Um, Don, the intercom must be broken," said Leo.

"I'm sure it's fine," said Donnie, "You probably just pressed the wrong button. I'll look at it later, right now we need to get home."

Leo's shell cell rang.

"Hello?" he answered. His eyes widened. "Sensei? What's wrong?"

"Why is Master Splinter calling us?" asked Donnie.

Leo took his ear away from the cell. "He's calling to check on us," he said.

"The mission was a success, Sensei," Leo said, "Mikey and Raph are in the back of the plane. They're fine."

There was silence in the cabin as Leo listened to Master Splinter.

"Alright," said Leo, "We were just going to check up on them anyway."

"What did he say?" asked Donnie as Leo hung up the phone.

"He wants us to check up on them," said Leo, raising an eyebrow, as if asking, _isn't that obvious?_

"If you think you can fly this thing, then I'll do it," said Donnie, "I need to stretch my legs."

"Sure thing," said Leo, taking his brother's seat.

Donnie walked over to the cockpit door and went to open it.

It wouldn't budge.

"Hey, what gives?" he asked, pushing against the door.

"What's wrong?" asked Leo.

"The door won't open," said Donnie, "I think it's stuck. Hey, can I borrow one of your katanas? I think I can get the door to open inwards instead of outwards."

"Sure thing," said Leo, tossing him one of his swords, "I hope this isn't one of Mikey's tricks."

"With Raph monitoring him? Naw, I'm sure the door is just sticking," said Donnie, "Ah, here we go!"

Pulling the door off its hinges, Donnie gasped.

"Leo, there's a cart in the way!"

"A cart?" asked Leo.

Donnie threw him his katana and stepped over the cart. That was when he saw Mikey on the floor, his feet crossed, and with tears streaming down his face.

"Mikey!" said Don, rushing over to his brother, "Mikey, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Don, what's going on?" asked Leo, "Is Mikey okay?"

"Mikey, answer me!" said Don.

His brother just pointed in front of him.

"Raph, what's wrong with Mikey?" asked Don.

There was no answer.

"Raph?" asked Don, looking up, "Mikey, where's Raphael?"

Mikey only pointed again.

Don turned around to see that his brother was pointing at the door.

"He said there was only one way to close the door," Mikey said, almost in a whisper, "And he said to tell you guys and Sensei that he…loved you."

Don turned back to Mikey and took him by the shoulders.

"Mikey, where is our brother?" he asked him.

"Don, what's wrong with Mikey?" Leo asked.

Don shook Mikey again.

"Tell me how he closed the door!" Don yelled, unwilling to believe what he was starting to believe, "HOW DID HE CLOSE THE STUPID DOOR!"

"DON!" called out Leo, "WHAT IS GOING ON BACK THERE?"

Mikey didn't answer Don, and Don didn't answer Leo.

"Where is Raph?" asked Don, loud enough for Leo to here, "Why isn't he HERE!"

"Don, I need you up in the cockpit," said Leo, "There's turbulence."

Obediently, Don left his sobbing brother and took his seat in the cockpit, tears streaming down his own face. He was back in his area of expertise, his element; and he now had something to keep him occupied. His mission was to get his brothers home.

He didn't notice that there was no turbulence, because the airplane was still underwater.

Leo put one hand on Don's shoulder and left it there for a second, before entering the fuselage and sitting next to his youngest brother. His eyes took in the cart, the broken intercom, the smashed shellcell and the sobbing brother who continuously pointed towards the door.

He sat down and pulled his brother into a hug.

"It will be all right, Mikey," he said, a tear coming down his own face, "It will be all right."

* * *

"But Master Splinter, we've _searched _the area ten times. If the bullets didn't get him, the fall or the Purple Dragons in their boats would done so. We just have to face facts."

"I agree with Donatello," said Leo, "We've tried everything. I can't think of anything else we can do, and it's been five months."

"He's not dead," said Mikey, from his position in the corner.

"Michelangelo?" asked Splinter.

Mikey stopped leaning against the wall, but kept his arms crossed as he spoke to his Sensei.

"Raphael is not dead," he said.

"Mikey," said Leo.

"Why _can't _I say his name?" asked Mikey, "He's my _brother_, Leonardo. Just because you guys refuse to say his name anymore doesn't mean that he's dead."

"Mikey, it's been too long," said Leo softly, "You of all people should know the situation. You were there when it happened."

"I do not believe that Michelangelo is ready to give up the search," said Splinter, "Perhaps we should wait one more week."

"Alright," said Donnie, "One more week, and then we stop the search."

"Is it a deal?" Leo asked Mikey.

His brother was silent.

"We shall resume the search in the morning," said Master Splinter, "In the meantime, let us all get a good night's rest."

Splinter, Leo and Don all began filing into their respective bedrooms.

"Oh, and Mikey," said Leo softly, "Don't think we _want _him to be dead. It's just that, well, we can't spend the rest of our lives ignoring the facts."

Mikey didn't answer. He waited until everyone else was gone, and instead of going to his own bedroom, he walked into Raph's.

They all knew that he spent his nights there instead of in his own bedroom.

* * *

It was precisely 12:30 am when Mikey found himself waking up. Someone was poking him in the ribs.

_Poke. Poke._

"Ugh, knock it off!" he said, turning over.

_Poke. Pokity-poke._

"Will you _quit _it?" Mikey asked, turning over.

Donatello stood next to the bed, his eyes closed.

"Donatello, you're sleepwalking again," said Mikey, "Go back to bed."

Donnie turned and walked back out of the room.

"Ugh, that is getting _so_ annoying," said Mikey, "But since he's gone, I'd better put my plan into action."

Mikey got up and filled a small cloth with everything he would need, and tucked it safely into his belt next to his favorite weapons.

"Goodbye guys," he whispererd as he walked out of the lair, "I'm going to bring our brother back."


	2. The Prisoner

_Thank you guys so much for your reviews/favs! Here is the second chapter. Hope you like it!_

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CHAPTER TWO

The next day, Donnie and Leo joined Master Splinter in the kitchen.

Everyone was quiet, and they all had red eyes. Donatello looked especially tired.

"Donnie, you've been sleepwalking again," Leo pointed out.

"I can't help it," said Donnie, "Ever since…the plane…I just, well, I don't know…"

"It is alright, my Son," said Splinter, "Michelangelo does not complain."

"I don't know which is worse," said Leo, "That Don sleepwalks into the room, or that Mikey sleeps there."

"We don't want to believe it," said Don, "Mikey says that I poke him. I probably think I'm poking…you know…"

"Speaking of which, where is Mikey?" asked Leo, "He should be up by now."

"Your brother is not at home, Leonardo," said Master Splinter softly.

Leo and Don looked at their Sensei, confused.

"We need to allow him this time alone," said Splinter, "But we must not neglect ourselves. We will begin practice within five minutes."

The last remaining turtles turned back to slowly finish their meager breakfast.

* * *

Michelangelo had snuck into the building. It had taken him a while, but he had been uncharacteristically patient. After hours of roaming the city, he had managed to bag a Purple Dragon using one of Raph's techniques. The man had been especially talkative, and while he had no idea where Raphael was, he had told Mikey the name of the leader who had been in charge of the Purple Dragon boats that had been firing on them that day.

This was better news than any that Mikey had heard in months, because it suddenly dawned on him that the Purple Dragons might have seen where Raph had landed when he fell off of the airplane. Mikey then went to great lengths to discover where this leader was hiding. He had three possible buildings lined up, and was currently infiltrating the first building.

And, while it seemed that the leader wasn't in _this _building, something big was definitely going on.

Mikey stuck to the shadows on the ceiling as he made his way down the hall. There was a room which had been quartered off the main map, and which the Purple Dragons had been very careful to avoid. That room was his target. It was the ideal place for a top leader to hide, or for a prisoner to be held.

Two people began walking down the hallway. Maybe their talk would be useful.

"He's still under quarantine in that room," said the man, pointing down the hallway towards the room where Mikey was heading, "We're still trying to figure out what happened."

Alright, so maybe the talk _wasn't _that useful. And it seemed that the room he was investigating was also useless.

Mikey turned around, intending to carefully and silently exit the building, while probably blowing it up on the way out.

"Once we can duplicate it, we can bring our enemies to our knees."

Or…maybe the room wasn't so useless.

Mikey turned back around again, intending to follow these two down the hallway.

"Have we made any progress?" The man asked.

"Negative," said the other, a woman, "He just keeps asking for crayons."

Mikey stopped, his hands and feet still clinging to the ceiling.

Crayons?

What big, tough Purple Dragon asks for crayons?

"I'm going to have another crack at him," said the woman, "Aside from getting him to sit still for the tests, the higher-ups want to know a few things about the people he used to work with."

"What can he tell us now?" asked the man.

"You'd be surprised," the woman smiled.

"Um, here," said the man, "You might want these."

"Disinfectant?" the woman scoffed, "He's not sick, Buster."

"Isn't he in quarantine?" the man asked.

"Yeah, but that's to keep 'im a secret," said the woman, "He's not radioactive anymore; the radiation wore off weeks ago. I still wonder how he could have fallen directly into that reactor, but then again, our suppliers had to run the submarines with _something. _Come on, let's get this over with."

Mikey processed this information. He needed to rescue this prisoner. It was clear that he was being held by the Purple Dragons, and that they were after him for information. But more than that, he had some kind of injury that they wanted to reproduce for their enemies. Something that wasn't just contagious.

Yes, he needed to do this right away. No time to call for backup. If the Purple Dragons got ahold of this new weapon, whatever it was, everyone was in trouble, police and Turtles included.

Mikey slowly made his way down the hallway.

"Well, good luck," said the man, waving to the woman as she used a keycard to unlock the door to the quarantined room, "He sure is a feisty one."

"Heh, I'm good with kids," said the woman as she waved back, oblivious to the fact that a giant turtle on the ceiling was sneaking into the room through the door that she held open.

_Kids? _Mikey wondered. She probably meant that as a slang word for 'teenagers'.

As soon as she was inside and the door was closed, Mikey carefully knocked her out. He then turned around to see that he was in a lit entryway. There was a closed door in front of him.

What could be beyond that door? The prisoner? Where there also guards? Was this prisoner someone on _his _side, even?

Mikey took a step forward and twisted the doorknob. To his surprise, it opened. Apparently, the Purple Dragons trusted their building security system to guard this room.

Heh. He had to smile at that one.

Mikey peeked inside without opening the door all the way. He could see that the room was huge, and it held an unmade bed, some toys, paper with little drawings on them-many of which were taped onto the pure white walls-and a few open children's books.

So the prisoner was a kid.

Mikey felt his blood boil. How dare the Purple Dragons use a kid to create some kind of weapon! He quickly jerked the door all the way open, fully intent on finding the kid in the room and taking him out of here. He startled the only occupant of the room, but Mikey was by far the more startled of the two.

The kid quickly recovered, and stopped coloring for a second.

"You're new," he said, "Hey, you're a turtle, just like me! Didja know ya have an orange mask like my brother Mikey?"

Mikey stared at the turtle kid who sported a red mask, a miniature version of his older brother.

"R-Raphael?" he asked, incredulously, his hand still on the doorknob.

The kid frowned. "How do ya know my name?" he asked, "I didn't introduce m'self yet."

Mikey gulped. The weirdness meter had just hit an all-time high level.

And this coming from a teenage, mutant Ninja that happened to be a giant turtle.


	3. Escape!

_Thought I might post one more chapter before the year ends. Happy New Year, everyone! 2013 is going to be so awesome! And please, if you see any errors in this story or have any constructive criticism, this author would love to hear it! I also love receiving normal reviews, but do not like asking for them. I prefer letting a story speak for itself._

* * *

CHAPTER 3

The small turtle was looking at Michelangelo expectantly.

"Um," said Mikey, not sure exactly what he should say, "I know your name because I'm Mikey."

"No you're not," said the kid, "Unless you're an uncle Masta Splinta never told me 'bout."

"Raph, what happened to you?" asked Mikey, coming over to the table where his brother was coloring.

"I dunno," he said, and filled in a drawing, "Do ya like it? It's me and my brothers playing with our Christmas presents."

"Um, yeah, it's nice," said Mikey, "Hey wow, are those our racecars? I almost forgot about th-I mean, your Sensei told me a long time ago about those presents. I can't believe I forgot about them."

"Really? You know Masta Splinta?" asked Raph, looking up.

"Yeah, of course," said Mikey, looking around at some of the pictures on the walls.

They were all scenes from his childhood.

"He's out looking for you. I came to get you and bring you home," continued Mikey.

Raph brightened up considerably.

"But we have to sneak out of here," said Mikey, "All ninja-like."

"You're a ninja too?" asked Raph.

"Yeah, see my nunchucks?" asked Mikey, "Splinter taught me everything I know."

"For real?" asked Raph.

"Yeah," said Mikey, "I'll take you to see him. He's really worried about you. And if you're quiet enough, I'll-uh-I'll buy you some ice cream."

"Can you get me _chocolate_ ice cream?"

"Sure."

"Can we leave now?" asked Raphael.

"Right away," said Mikey, "Are you ready?"

Leaving all the paper and crayons right where they were, Raphael ran to Mikey and grabbed hold of his hand. The action startled Mikey, who suddenly remembered that Splinter had always made them hold hands when they were little.

"Right," said Mikey, squatting down, "Here's what I want you to do. Grab hold of my shell and climb on, alright? We're going to sneak out the way I got in, by traveling on the ceiling. Got that?"

Raph nodded, crawled onto Mikey's back. He was surprisingly light. As soon as he was on, he clamped his arms around Mikey's neck and held him tight.

"Alright," said Mikey, standing up, "To get the ice cream, you have to follow three rules: you have to hold on, you have to follow escape instructions, and you have to be very, very quiet. Got that?"

Raph nodded.

"Then here we go," said Mikey, and he jumped onto the ceiling, being very careful not to squash his young older brother between his shell and the roof.

Slowly, very slowly, he opened the outer door of the room and began crawling along the ceiling of hallway.

* * *

"Master Splinter," said Donatello, "May we have a break?"

Splinter looked at him, and at the exhausted Leonardo. He sighed.

"Yes, my son," he said, "You both may use a break."

The two turtles collapsed onto the ground as their Sensei walked off to his quarters.

"I think," said Leonardo, gasping for breath, "That he's …pushing us so hard…because he's worried about Mikey."

"Yeah," said Donnie, "You're probably right."

"He'll be fine, Don," said Leo, "He's a big turtle. He can handle himself."

"I know," said Donnie, "But I don't think any one of us can handle losing anyone else."

Leo frowned at that.

"Come on," he said, "You need some more things from the junkyard, right?"

"Yes…"

"Then let's go get it now," said Leo, "I'll tell Master Splinter, and you get your list."

Don smiled. Leo always knew how to cheer him up. If only he knew how he could help cheer up Leo.

"My sons, are you truly going out?" asked Master Splinter, stepping out of the shadows.

"Yes Sensei," said Leo, bowing, "It is nearly dusk, and we would like to get some fresh air."

"Then let me come with you," said Splinter, "I too need to get out of this place."

"Master, we'd be honored."

* * *

"This isn't the way home," said Raph as Mikey led him through the sewers, "The lair is _that _way."

"That's the old lair," said Mikey.

Suddenly he realized that Raph didn't know the new lair at all.

"_Old_ lair?" asked Raph, licking his ice cream cone that Mikey had bought for him. Well, he had kind of swiped it, but had left the money on the counter.

"Yeah, uh," said Mikey, "Well, the bad guys discovered it, and it, uh, it had to be moved. I'm taking you to the new lair."

"Um, okay," said Raph, "But this _better _not be a trap!"

"I'd _never_ lead you into a trap, Raph!" said Mikey, "Watch your step here."

"You know, the bad guys back at the place I was in didn't hurt me," said Raph, "Although they stuck me with some needles that hurt a little. But they tried finding out the lair! Uncle Mikey, they must have known we moved! It's a good thing _I _didn't know where, or I might have told them by accident!"

"Um, yeah, that _is _a good thing," said Mikey.

"But you know what I liked? They let me color! I colored red pictures and blue pictures and purple pictures and orange and brown and-"

Mikey wasn't sure what to say, so he just nodded his head as he led his brother by the hand. He was a little astonished to find out that Raph had been such a talker when they were little.

"Alright, here we are," said Mikey, opening the secret door and herding his brother inside.

"Wow!" said Raphael, "This place is so cool!"

He let go of Mikey's hand and instantly ran into the room.

"Guys, come on out!" he called.

Suddenly, Mikey realized that his other brothers might be a little shocked to discover their brother as a little kid.

But he didn't need to worry, there was no answer.

"This _is _Masta Splinta's house!" said Raph, running up to Mikey, "His room has that statue I made him!"

"The little bird?" asked Mikey, remembering that was what it was supposed to be, "He keeps it on his shelf."

"I know, I saw it!" said Raph, jumping up and down in his excitement, "I'm home! I haven't been home in a while! I missed everyone. Where _is _everyone?"

"Um, they must be out," said Mikey, "Are you hungry?"

"_YES!_" shouted Raph, "Make me cereal!"

"Say please," said Mikey sarcastically as he reached into the cupboard. He had unconsciously fallen into his old habit of speaking with his hot-tempered brother.

"Please!" said Raph excitedly, reminding Mikey that his brother was still a kid. Back then, Raph sometimes had manners.

"Okay, then! Here you go!" said Mikey, pouring cereal in the bowl and handing it to his brother, along with a spoon, "I'll get the milk!"

"Thanks!" said Raph, watching as Mikey poured the milk into his cereal.

The second he started eating, Mikey _knew _for a fact that this was definitely his brother.

No one else was such a messy eater.

"Um," said Mikey, "I have to make a quick phone call, okay?"

Raph didn't answer.

"I'll be quick," said Mikey, and he pulled out his shellcell.

"What's that?" asked Raph.

"It's a shellcell," said Mikey, dialing.

"What's a shellcell?"

"It's like a cell phone," said Mikey, putting the cell to his ear.

"What's a cell phone?" asked Raph.

"Um," said Mikey, not anticipating this question, "It's like a regular phone, but without a cord."

"Cool," said Raph, digging further into his cereal.

"Mikey!" said Leo, answering the phone, "Are you alright? Where are you?"

"I'm okay, and I'm hom-I mean, I'm at the lair. Where are you guys?"

"We're at the junkyard with Master Splinter," said Leo, "Hey, are you doing all right?"

"Fine, perfectly fine," said Mikey, "Listen, can you get back here right away?"

"Sure," said Leo, relaying the message to Don and Splinter, "Mikey, are you sure everything is alright?"

"No, not really," said Mikey, looking at his young older brother again. He quickly walked out of the other room, not wanting Raph to hear this, "Um, listen, I brought someone back to the lair."

"You _what?_" asked Leo.

"He thinks I'm his uncle or something," said Mikey, "Don't get your hopes up, I'm not sure what's wrong with him, but-"

"Mikey, who is it? Who did you bring home?" asked Leo, sounding concerned.

"Relax bro, he's harmless," said Mikey, "He's just a kid-"

"You brought home a kid," said Leo, sounding relieved, "Good. No one will believe him."

"Listen Leo, you guys need to see this," said Mikey, "Come home as quick as you can, alright?"

Before Leo could answer, Mikey hung up the phone and ran back to the kitchen. True to his instincts, the place was a mess. Pots and pans were everywhere, and every door was wide open, including the refrigerator door. Raph had always been a quick one.

Said turtle looked up innocently, his hands in the process of digging into one of the cupboards.

"Raphael," said Mikey sternly, putting his hands on his waist, "Splinter is coming, and I don't think he'll be very happy to see the kitchen looking like this. Tell you what. If you clean this up, I'll get you some paper and crayons."

"Oh alright," said Raph, putting the things back into the cupboard.

"Good job," said Mikey, "I'll be right back with the crayons and paper."

Ten minutes later, Raphael was happily coloring at the table, and the kitchen was in order once more.

"You know what, Unc?" Raph began, "It's been kinda nice not to have practice. But I s'pose that Masta Splinta will want me to start practicing again, right?"

"Probably," said Mikey, busy coloring in his picture of a dragon, "But then, you've been gone for a long time. So maybe he'll let you have the day off."

"That'd be cool," said Raphael.

"Do you remember how long you've been gone?" asked Mikey.

"A long time," said Raph, "Many Sundays passed by. That place was boring. And I kept missing home. I thought that they would start 'xperimenting on me there."

"No!" said Mikey, exaggerating his exclamation.

"Yes!" said Raph, clearly excited to see that Mikey understood him.

The door to the lair opened, making its usual grating sound.

Raph grew silent, and stopped coloring. He looked at Mikey with fear in his eyes.

"It's just the door," Mikey reassured him, "Keep on coloring, I'll see who it is. And _no _messing with the kitchen while I'm gone, alright?"

Raph nodded, and continued coloring.

Mikey walked out of the room and ran to his brothers and Sensei, who were just entering the door.

"Guys!" he said.

"Mikey! Where's your guest?" asked Leo.

"Guys," said Mikey, "He doesn't know us."

"Of course not, Mikey, you only just brought him down here," said Don, "We'll be careful not to scare him. How old is he, anyway?"

"I don't know," said Mikey, "But guys, he _does _know Master Splinter."

"What?" asked everyone collectively.

"Listen," said Mikey, "I found him as a Purple Dragon prisoner."

"So you rescued him," said Donnie, "That makes sense."

"Why'd you go in alone?" asked Leo, "You could've been-"

"Wait, just hear me out first," said Mikey, "He's coloring in the kitchen. And you're not going to believe who he is, but I don't think he remembers us, at least, not as we are _now_, but only as we were _then_."

"Mikey," said Leo, "Have you lost your mind?"

"Trust me," said Mikey, "Something's wrong with him. He's acting his age."

"That's more than _some _of us can say," muttered Donnie.

Master Splinter gave him a slap with his cane.

"How does this boy know me?" Splinter asked.

"Well, it sounds too crazy when I say it," said Mikey, "All I know is that I overheard some Purple Dragons say that he fell into some submarine reactor."

"What?" asked Donnie, tightening his grip on his bo staff.

"They also said he was no longer active, whatever that means."

"You must mean _radio_active," said Donatello, relaxing his hold on his staff.

"But that doesn't explain how he knows Master Splinter," said Leonardo.

Mikey groaned.

"Look, I can't explain this without sounding like I need to go to the loony bin," he said.

"You _already _sound like you need to go there," Don pointed out.

"Just…follow me to the kitchen, okay? Master Splinter, you come right after me. Be prepared for the unexpected, alright?"

"Mikey," said Leo, "How are we supposed to do that, if you won't tell us what's going on?"

"Just do it, alright?" said Mikey.

He led the way into the kitchen.

"Hey, look who I found!" He told Raph cheerfully.

Raph looked up from the table, and instantly spotted his Master Splinter.

"Masta Splinta!" he shouted, and bounced off the chair so fast that it toppled over behind him. He ran straight into Splinter's arms.


	4. A Strange Reunion

_Happy New Year! Thank you guys so much for reading this story! A special thank you to Zairihannah for some awesome constructive criticism! I did not even notice some of the things I had been doing until she pointed them out. I went through this new chapter and attempted to edit some of it to reflect this, and may or may not have been successful. Later I might go back and edit previous chapters, but only to make them clearer. :D_

* * *

CHAPTER FOUR

Splinter's face was one of utter shock, but his arms instinctively opened to receive the young turtle. Behind him Leonardo and Donatello had paused in mid-stride, their mouths wide open. Both their faces showed concern, amazement and shock.

However, as soon as Raphael jumped into Splinter's arms, his joy abruptly changed to tears. He began crying very loudly.

"Sensei, I-I was lost," he said, "Lost and scared and lonely and-"

Almost instinctively Splinter began caressing Raphael softly. Suddenly he lifted his eyes and took stock of everything and everyone in the room. The kitchen appliances had been slightly rearranged, mimicking an arrangement that used to belong to their old lair, while children's drawings littered the kitchen table and already threatened to make their way to the fridge. Leonardo and Donatello stood shocked and still as statues, but Mikey was smiling as if this were the cutest moment in history. Master Splinter's mind cleared as he realized what Michelangelo had been trying to tell them earlier. A more detailed look at the drawings on the table before him confirmed to Splinter that this was indeed his missing son.

Out of all his children, only Raphael ever drew Splinter wearing armor.

"Leonardo, Donatello and Michelangelo," said Splinter, "I must speak to Raphael alone."

With that, Splinter slowly picked Raphael up and, after straightening up the fallen chair, carried Raph out of the kitchen and towards the bedroom designated as Splinter's, all the while telling him that everything was all right. The three turtles left in the kitchen could hear Raphael slowly halt his bout of sobbing, and instead began telling Splinter every minute detail of everything that occurred without his Sensei at his side.

"Mikey," Leo whispered. He had come up close next to his brother to speak in his ear, "Is it-?"

"Yeah," Mikey said offhandedly, "It's him."

"Maybe I should analyze his DNA just to be sure," Donnie suggested.

"Do you know of any _other _red-masked turtle ninja he could be?" asked Mikey, mindful to keep his voice low in the off-chance that Raphael could hear them from Sensei's room, "This isn't a trick, guys. Just look at his drawings. They've got things in them that _I _didn't remember happening until just now, things that happened when we were kids."

Leonardo and Donatello looked at one another, and with silent agreement they softly stepped forward to the table. Leo picked up one drawing, and Donnie picked up another.

Both faces turned a lesser shade of green.

Donnie's picture was of a small Donnie and Raphie playing with tiny toy cars that Don had found one day after a heavy rainstorm. Raph had been sick that day, and Don let him have the first pick of which car he would keep. He had chosen the red one, even though the vehicle had come with a giant letter "D" on its hood that was left over from the previous owner. When Mikey had commented on the letter, Raph had responded that it would always remind him of how Don gave the car to him. It was one of the nicest things Raphael had ever said, and Don couldn't believe he had forgotten it. In the drawing before him, the letter "D" was clearly visible on Raph's toy.

The picture Leo had chosen to pick up was a child's drawing of two little turtles on a swing, laughing by the light of the moon. This one was a secret adventure shared only between Leo and Raph. It had happened one night when Splinter, Donnie and Mikey were asleep, and Raph had decided to convince Leo to travel topside. The two had promised to keep it a secret forever, in order to avoid the wrath of Master Splinter.

"Shell," whispered Leo, "This can't be true. It must be some sort of trick…the Shredder…Karai…_someone_…anyone could have tortured Raph to find this out!"

"I don't know, Bro," Mikey whispered, picking up another picture, "Why would anyone _want _Raph's old memories? Heh, remember this one, Don?"

Donnie laughed softly as he took the drawing.

"I remember," he said, "Weren't you in the room that day, Leo?"

Leo took a look at the picture.

"It's just Raph and Don standing at a toaster," he commented, but his sentence came out more as a question than a statement.

"There's more to it than that," said Don, gazing wistfully at the picture, "When we were very little, Raph came up to me one day and asked for some help with the toaster."

Mikey chortled. "He told Don that he had put in some toast a half an hour earlier, and it _still_ hadn't popped."

"So you fixed the toaster," said Leo, "You've done that a million times, Don."

"Yeah," said Don, "But this was almost _too _easy. Raph got mad at me for it."

"Come again?"

"Look at the picture Dude," said Mikey.

Leo took a second look at the picture, and registered that in the picture little Donnie was plugging the toaster into the wall.

Of course. _Duh._

"And take a look at this one," said Mikey, "This was the day we first received weapons. I remember that Raph wanted-"

"Stop." Leo commanded, "This has gone on long enough. Our brother is dead, Mikey, and there's nothing that will change that."

"But what if he isn't dead?" asked Donnie, "What if this really is our brother? Mikey mentioned something about a nuclear reactor. Considering all the illegal items that the Purple Dragons get their hands on, any number of things could have reacted with the reactor _and _with Raph to cause this transformation. And even if the Purple Dragons _did _make a miniature version of our brother, where could they have gotten all these memories? _I _sure didn't tell them."

"And that means," concluded Mikey, "That Raph _had _to survive the plane ride, since they could have only gotten his memories from him. Isn't that right, Leo?"

But Leo only stared straight ahead, his eyes glued to the refrigerator.

"Um, Leo?" asked Mikey, "You okay bro?"

"Yeah," said Leo, snapping out of whatever trance he had just been in, "Just processing all this. Donnie, what if-"

"Belay that," said Donnie, "They're coming back!"

As if someone had promised them a prize for being the quickest turtle, Mikey, Donnie and Leo all grabbed the back of the nearest chair and quickly sat down. When Splinter and a now-composed Raphael entered the room hand in hand, the three turtles attempted to look as innocent as possible.

Needless to say, Splinter was not fooled. Nonetheless he turned his gaze to face his now youngest son.

"My Son," Splinter addressed Raph, "How would you like some hot chocolate?"

Raph sniffed and nodded his head. "Yes please Sensei."

"Leonardo, kindly heat some water," Splinter commanded, sitting down in a chair and pulling Raph onto his lap.

"Certainly Sensei," Leo said, and he slowly stood from his chair and began walking towards the stove.

"Hey, is your name Leo too?" asked Raph, "I've gotta brother named Leonardo. He wears a blue mask too."

Leonardo gave him a strange look before turning back to the cupboards, where he was in the process of finding a pot to boil water. The cupboards were a mess. It looked like they had just been reorganized by a seven year old.

"Um, Raphael," Donnie began, "How old is your brother Leo?"

"As old as I am," said Raph, "Hey, my brother Donnie has a purple mask just like you! Is your name Donnie too?"

"Um, yes," said Donnie.

"Cool!" Raph began, sitting up straighter in his Sensei's lap, "Wait until my brothers hear about this!"

The silent communication between the three older turtles came to an agreement: they weren't going to tell him anything about what they had just been discussing. Not until they knew for certain what was going on, and if he could handle the information. They weren't going to lie to him, but they just wouldn't tell him.

"Does he have amnesia?" Don asked Splinter.

"Does who have 'nesia?" asked Raph.

"My Sons," said Splinter, "We shall discuss this later. Right now, let us all have some nice hot chocolate."

"Man, we haven't done this since we were kids," said Mikey as Leo set a hot mug in front of Raphael that was filled with the delicious drink.

"Thanks," said Raph, taking the drink.

"It is good to have you back, my son," said Splinter.

"Yeah, it's good to be home," said Raph, taking a sip.

For the rest of the evening, everyone sat around the kitchen table listening to Raphael describe his adventures with the bad humans, his drawings, and what he thought of the new lair. Sometime around seven, however, Raphael began nodding off, and he eventually fell asleep in his Sensei's arms.

It was around then that the table became eerily quiet, and the only thing heard was Raph's soft snoring.

"So," said Leonardo, looking at Mikey, "What exactly _happened_?"

* * *

After Sensei had put the sleeping Raph down in his bed, instead of in Raph's bedroom, he returned to the kitchen and rejoined his three sons at the table. Soon after Raph conked out Donnie had given him a quick examination and taken a DNA sample from him, and the sample was currently in his lab going through some very rigorous tests.

"Is he a-?" asked Leo.

"Yes," said Don, "He's a real turtle kid, and not some robot or cyborg. I'm checking his DNA to be one hundred percent sure, but right now I can say with certitude that this is _definitely _our brother."

Leonardo gave a small intake of breath.

"I'm guessing that when his body was somehow reverted back to a kid, his brain couldn't handle the physical stress," Donnie continued, "Instead of freaking out and going mad, his memories were repressed, causing him to act like your typical seven year old."

"So, if I heard what I think you said, you're saying that he now acts his age," said Mikey.

"Exactly," Don said.

"So, what do we do?" asked Leo.

"We treat him like any other seven year old," said Don.

"What!" Leo exclaimed, "Don, you just said that he's _Raph. _We can't treat him like a kid!"

"We're going to have to," Don said, "Did you see how he reacted when Splinter treated him like one? It was the best thing for him. Leo, he _thinks _he's still a kid. If we try to tell him otherwise, we could seriously hurt him."

"But how are we going to treat him like a kid?" asked Leo.

"Simple," said Master Splinter, a small smile playing on his lips, "Let Michelangelo babysit."

"Wait, what?" asked Mikey, unsure if that was a compliment or an insult.

"But Sensei," Don began, "Should we move? What if the things in this house jog his memory?"

"We do not need to move, Donatello," said Master Splinter, "For one thing, he did not grow up in this lair. And for another, have you noticed that he has not asked for any of his brothers?"

"Huh?" asked Mikey.

"What does that have anything to do with this?" asked Leo.

Splinter smiled, and drank some more of his tea.

"You see," he said, "He has not asked for any of his brothers, but has instantly accepted you as 'uncles'."

"I get it," said Don, "He subconsciously _knows _that we're his brothers."

"And yet, he has _not_ had a nervous breakdown," said Splinter, smiling as he sipped some more of his tea.

"So," said Leo, "How can we help him recover his memory without completely freaking him out?"

"Well," said Mikey, waving his hands for emphasis, "Let's find out what happened to him, so we can_ un_do whatever was _done_."

"That sounds like a start," said Don, "But we're going to have to proceed very carefully. If what Mikey said is true, then the Purple Dragons will be all over the city looking for him."

"And they probably know that we have him," said Leo, "So they'll be looking for _us_, too. So there's going to be no leaving the lair for a while."

"What?" asked Mikey, "But what about movie night with Casey and April?"

"Mikey, the Purple Dragons probably know about April and Case," said Leonardo, "We can't risk it."

"Still," said Donnie, "We're going to have to leave to try to find out what happened to Raph."

"Not necessarily, my son," said Splinter, "Perhaps you can find out what happened merely by using your laboratory."

"Maybe," Don said, tapping his chin with two of his fingers, "But I might need a few more parts to do a more complete investigation."

"Then the only trips to the surface will be to the junkyard to get Donnie's parts," Leo commanded.

"Can't we get April to bring us stuff?" asked Mikey.

"Too risky, Mikey," said Donnie, shaking his head, "Even though the Purple Dragons stay away from Casey, he certainly won't like it if we manage to put her on their 'list'. We'll let April know that we need to lay low for a while. She'll understand."

"Should we tell Case and April that Raph is alive?" asked Mikey.

"My sons, I do not think we should," said Splinter, "It would only alert the Purple Dragons to our presence."

The three turtles at the table looked at one another.

"We understand, Sensei," said Leonardo.

"So, to recap," said Mikey, "We're going to keep it a secret that Raph's alive, we're going to keep it a secret that he's a kid, and we're going to keep it a secret that we're searching for a cure while avoiding the Purple Dragon gang."

"That's about it," said Leo.

"So," Donny said, "Because we want to make it look like we have absolutely _no _idea where he is, we should _probably _go ahead with the funeral."

"Oh shell, I forgot all about that," Leo frowned, looking worried.

"Um, guys," Mikey licked his lips, afraid of the answer to his question, "What funeral?"


	5. Pancakes

_Thanks again for the reviews/favs/follows/constructive criticism! All are highly appreciated! Hope you enjoy this new chapter :D_

* * *

CHAPTER FIVE

"Guys, please," Mikey stammered, "W-whose funeral are you talking about?"

Michelangelo looked at two of his brothers and his Sensei expectantly, a worried look on his features.

"Mikey," Don spoke calmly, "It's Raph's funeral."

Mikey let out a gasp of relief, and in his relief his face fell forward and slammed into the table. Suddenly he sat up straight again, but this time he was angry.

"What's this about Raph's _funeral_?" he demanded, fists clenching.

"Well, we weren't going to tell you just yet," said Leo, "But we've planned out Raph's funeral to, er, be next week." He grimaced, then let the next sentence come forth slightly faster than normal. "At Casey's Grandmother's farmhouse. Um, we've already invited Casey and April."

Mikey's mouth dropped.

"You _what_?" he asked, "How could…why…_huh_?"

"We're sorry Mikey," said Donnie, placing a hand on his distraught brother's shoulder, "We just…we really thought that he was dead…"

Mikey was visibly shaken, but did not allow himself to cry.

"I can't believe you guys and April and Casey just gave up," he said, looking Leo in the eye.

Leonardo responded by using one arm to pull his brother into a hug. At that, Mikey completely fell apart. His tears flowed freely down his brother's neck.

"We're so sorry," Leo whispered into his ear.

"My son," said Splinter, placing his paw on Mikey's shoulder, "You were the only one who retained hope. And because of you, we now know that Raphael is still alive. Yet, since we just discussed the need to keep him a secret, this means that to keep up appearances…"

All three sons exchanged looks.

"This means that we will have to go through with the funeral and risk being seen with Casey and April," Donnie concluded, "Hopefully the Purple Dragons will not hear about it since the farmhouse is so far in the country."

"But," said Leo, still holding onto Mikey, "What are we going to do about Raph? We can't leave him alone down here."

"No kidding," Mikey sniffled, "I left him alone for two minutes and he nearly tore apart the kitchen."

"Oh come on," Leo snickered, "It can't have been _that _bad."

Suddenly Splinter laughed, causing the three turtles to turn towards him in confusion.

"My sons, you obviously do not remember," Splinter said, "But you were all _quite _a handful."

The turtles all blushed, various memories coming to mind. It was true; Raphael wasn't the only turtle troublemaker.

"So," said Leo, changing the topic just a little in his embarrassment, "If we can convince some of the world that Raph is dead, maybe the Purple Dragons will believe it as well and think we _don't _have him, and they won't come searching the sewers for him."

"Sounds like a plan," grinned Mikey, finally breaking out of the hug with his brother, "But I have one suggestion: we should move up the funeral date and get it over with."

"Good idea, Mikey," said Leo, "That way, the Purple Dragons will hear about it and leave us alone sooner rather than later."

"I'll call April right now," said Donnie, getting up from the table, "I'll tell her that you're okay with it, Mikey, and she'll think that you've just accepted his death."

* * *

That night was the first in many months where Mikey slept in his own bed, and after Raph's hammock he needed to get used to a real bed again. That, and he wasn't used to the strange light his alarm clock was throwing onto the wall. Huh. He had originally missed that when he started staying in Raph's room, but now he just wanted to chuck it out the door. Maybe _that_ was why he was taking so long to fall asleep.

Mikey smirked, wondering how easy it would be to break that alarm clock. But then he would have the wrath of Donnie on his tail…better not do it tonight.

Mikey turned to his side.

It was still astonishing to remember that Raph was alive. Lying there awake in bed, he could barely believe it was true. Was it only this morning that he had rescued his brother? His now _younger _brother? And how were they going to get him back to his own age? Would he remember anything happening to him _now_?

Mikey turned over in bed. He was too excited to sleep. Maybe he should read a few comics to take his mind off things, before falling asleep…

A shadow opened the door to his bedroom.

Instantly Mikey had changed position. Whereas before he had been lying on the bed, he was now standing on it, wielding his two nunchucks. Wait, where had he-? Oh, that's right. He always kept them on his headboard when he slept in his bed. It was only in Raph's room that he had started putting them on a dresser at night.

The shadow gave out a small cry, and then the door burst wide open.

"Mikey!" shouted a voice, and the shadow ran through the room to topple down the turtle named Mikey.

"Raphael!" said Mikey, getting off the bed and returning his brother's hug, "You scared me!"

"I'm a ninja, I'm s'posed tuh be scary!" Raph spoke with a slight quiver in his voice, and suddenly he jumped underneath Mikey's covers.

"Um, Raph?" Mikey asked, "What's going on?"

"Nightmare," said Raph, "But it's alright now. I'm a big kid. Goodnight, Mikey."

Raph turned over, and just like that, the conversation was over.

Blinking, Mikey got back into bed and pulled the covers over both of them. He could tell that Raph had already fallen back to sleep; his snoring was unmistakable.

"Um, goodnight. I _really _hope you're not mad at me when you remember this, Bro." Mikey was still kind of confused, but nonetheless he closed his eyes and soon fell asleep as well.

* * *

The next morning, Leonardo walked slowly down the stairs, wondering if last night was a dream.

"It wasn't," Don spoke, coming up to him.

"Huh?" asked Leo.

"It wasn't a dream," said Don, "I think Raph is in the kitchen with Sensei. Late last night I finished my DNA analysis, and that is definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, our brother. I'm going to have to find some new equipment in order to find out what happened, so that we can reverse it. Oh, and Leo, lock up your valuables. Early this morning I caught Raph messing with chemicals in my lab. When he's older I am _so _going to kill him."

"You _already _caught him in your lab? Donatello, how early were you up this morning? Better yet, did you actually sleep?"

Donnie laughed. "Oh I slept all right. Perfectly, in fact. Never better. I slept right up to the point where I woke up in Raph's room, trying to poke an empty hammock."

Leo chuckled, and Donnie sighed.

"I really need to kick this whole sleepwalking thing," Don stated matter-of-factly as the both of them entered the kitchen.

The two turtles stopped in surprise, not used to the scene in front of them. Raph was busy eating chocolate chip pancakes. At least, he should have been eating them. Instead, he had bitten out holes for the eyes, nose and mouth, and was currently sporting the pancake as a mask. Master Splinter was trying to get him to stop, but his position was unfortunately compromised by laughing too hard. Mikey, meanwhile, was at the stove cooking some more pancakes.

"You guys hungry?" Mikey asked Leo and Donnie, "Raph wanted pancakes this morning."

"Um, sure Mikey," Leo said haltingly. He was still uncomfortable with Raph being a kid.

"I'll take three," said Donnie, sitting down.

"Hey, can we go out today?" Raph begged, his mouth full of pancake.

"We're not allowed outside, remember?" asked Leo, sitting down at the table.

"Since when? I like going outside."

Leo and Don looked at one another. This was a minor crinkle; young Raph _never _went outside. He simply hadn't been allowed to go out back then.

"Besides, _you're_ going out Unca Leo," Raphael pointed out, "Splinter said so."

"Yeah," said Mikey, setting pancakes in front of Don and Leo, "We're going to a funeral. You sure you want to go to that, Raphie?"

"Don't call me 'Raphie', _Michelangelo_," said Raph. He crossed his arms, "I guess I don't wanna go after all."

"Yeah," said Mikey, giving Raph another pancake, "Sadly, we've _all_ been banned from going topside, except for the funeral. So we'll just have to play here."

"Well, I hate to contradict you Mikey," Don pointed out, speaking in between mouthfuls of chocolate chip pancakes, "But Sensei gave me permission to go on a junkyard run later on tonight."

"Can I do that?" asked Raph, turning to Master Splinter.

"Are you certain, my son?" asked Splinter, "You would have to help Donatello carry whatever he finds back to the lair."

"Nah," said Raph, "I guess I don't wanna after all. But I don't wanna stay cooped up in here all day."

"Would you like to resume your training?" asked Master Splinter.

Raph jumped out of his chair and into Sensei's lap.

"Please, I'm _dying _here!" he shouted dramatically.

"As soon as you have eaten all your breakfast, we will resume your training," said Splinter.

Raphael obediently got up, sat in his own chair, and began to finish his food.

"Who will stay home with Raph while we go to the funeral?" asked Leo.

"It can't be Mikey," said Don, "April and Case need to think that he's getting closure."

"What's closure?" asked Raph.

"My son, please, do not talk with your mouth full," said Splinter.

Raph continued eating.

"I think that you should go as well, Master Splinter," said Leo, "You won't be able to excuse yourself from _this _funeral."

"So that leaves you and me, Leo," said Don, smiling, "One of us will have to pretend to be so upset by, err, the death, that he can't make it. And if they don't fall for that, we can invent some terrible cold brought on by the grief."

"Should we toss a coin?" asked Leo, cutting into his pancakes with a knife and fork.

"How about you ask Raph?" asked Mikey, sitting down at the table with a plate of pancakes for himself.

"Huh?" asked Leo, pausing his fork just as it was half-way to his mouth.

"Sure," said Mikey, pouring syrup on his stack of pancakes, "Just ask him. Hey Raphael, which of your two lovable uncles do you want to stay home with you, Leo or Donnie?"

Raph opened his mouth.

"Leo," he said, before stuffing some more pancake into his open mouth.

"Well, there you have it," Mikey smiled, and then proceeded to dig into his pancakes with gusto.

"What? Are you sure, Raph?" asked Leo, setting down his fork without eating anything on it.

"Course, Unca Leo," Raph's mouth was full once again, "You're _lots_ of fun."

"Wait," said Leo, "Why not Mikey? He's fun too, right? I mean, _he's_ still a kid."

"Hey!" Mikey complained, syrup dripping down his chin as he glared at his brother.

"Leo, we said this before," said Donnie, "Mikey _has _to go to the funeral."

"Then it is settled," Splinter said, his very tone indicating that the matter was not to be negotiated, "Leo will watch over Raphael. We leave for the funeral at noon. Do not worry, Raphael, there will be plenty of time for us to practice before then."

Raph gave an audible sigh of relief, and continued eating.

Leo, meanwhile, looked a little lost. He fingered his plate, and slowly pushed it away.

He hadn't eaten anything on it.

After some hours of grueling practice with Raphael, Master Splinter finally emerged to find two of his sons missing from the main room. Leonardo was lounging on the couch, reading a book on parenting. It was missing several pages and had been partially burned before it was flung into the sewers, but it was better than nothing.

"Donatello, Michelangelo!" Splinter called across the lair, "We are leaving for the funeral. We must leave now, for it is a long drive to the farmhouse."

"Coming, Sensei!" The two voices replied simultaneously.

"Sorry, Sensei, I was busy writing the Eulogy for you and lost track of time," Donnie apologized, running up to him.

"Same here, Master Splinter," Mikey said, following closely behind him, "But instead of writing a whatchamacallit I was busy getting the onions."

"What are ya getting onions for?" asked Raph, still standing next to Master Splinter.

"For the funeral, of course," said Mikey, putting on a huge grin.

Raphael looked even more confused.

"Leonardo and Raphael," Splinter said, "Behave yourselves!"

"Yes Sensei!" replied Leo, who had already gotten up from his place on the couch.

"Of course, Masta Splinta," said Raph, giving his Sensei a good-bye hug, "We'll miss ya while you're gone!"

"And I will miss you as well, Raphael," said Splinter, enjoying his son's affection. Suddenly he placed both hands on the young turtle's shoulders, "Nevertheless, if there is one thing out of place when I return…"

He left the threat unfinished, but nonetheless gave his son a second hug. Leo, Donnie and Mikey couldn't help but smile at the 'threat'. Splinter had _always _spoken to them like that when they were children, and had even said that to Mikey only just last week.

"And be careful, my sons," Splinter said, turning to look at all four of his children, "The Purple Dragons will doubtless attempt to discover our lair. Do not be too rowdy, Leonardo and Raphael. Meanwhile you two, Donatello and Michelangelo, must be sure to proceed with extra caution today."

"Yes, Sensei," said all four turtles, with Raph's voice coming in last, a split-second behind everyone else.

With a nod, Splinter walked over to the front entryway, and led Donnie and Mikey out the door. He left behind a very flabbergasted Leonardo in charge of an especially difficult Raphael.

Leo turned to his brother. He still couldn't get over that this was _his _brother, but even worse, he wasn't exactly sure what to _do _with him.

"Um," he said, trying to think of what they played as kids.

He knelt down in front of his little brother, "What would you like to play, Raph?"

Raph's rapidly growing and highly mischievous grin told Leo that he was over his head in trouble.


	6. A Solemn Funeral

_Well, this chapter is a little short, but it was so much fun to write! Leo and Raph will be in the next chapter. Enjoy!_

* * *

CHAPTER SIX

It had been several hours since April and Casey drove Splinter and two of his sons into the country. The rain poured as Splinter stood in front of the small wooden box which acted as the casket, while April, Casey and Angel, as well as Donatello and Michelangelo, stood reverently on the other side of the box. They were standing in a clearing on property that belonged to Casey's Grandmother's farmhouse.

"Thank you all for coming," Splinter said quietly, moving an onion hidden within his robe so that the fumes would reach his eyes, "We greatly appreciate your presence in this time of grief."

An onion tear slid down his cheek, and his puffy eyes were greatly irritating him. But Splinter continued nonetheless, grateful for Michelangelo's idea of using onions to make tears.

"On behalf of my son Raphael, I thank you for coming to his funeral." He said.

There was silence, as everyone bowed their heads.

"Raphael was a wonderful turtle," said Splinter, once again secretly sniffing his onion, "He tried to act, as they say, 'tough', but underneath it all, he was a caring, compassionate, emotional individual, and he would die to protect any one of us here. I-In fact, that _is _how he died. By his death he saved his brothers. His actions brought life and great honor to this family."

"You know," Mikey whispered to Don as onion tears streamed down both of their faces, "It's a shame Raphie couldn't make it to the funeral."

"What?" whispered April.

"Nothing," said Mikey, speaking a little louder.

April looked slightly confused.

"Way to go, bonehead," whispered Donnie to his brother, quietly enough that April wouldn't hear.

"Because we have not recovered the body," said Master Splinter, "We are going to bury the casket with something that was very dear to my son's heart and comforting to his soul."

He opened the small casket, and showed everyone a small teddy bear that was fitting snuggly inside.

Don and Mikey exchanged glances, and had to smell their onions deeply in their attempt not to laugh. They thought Raph had torched that thing years ago.

April looked slightly annoyed at all the sniffing and gasping that the turtles were making, but helpfully handed them a box of tissues.

"WHY?" exploded Casey, bawling his eyes out and making everyone jump in surprise at his outburst, "Why did he have to go? We were best buds, we was!"

"Please, Mr. Jones, control yourself," said Master Splinter.

"And this was his favorite hang out tree!" Casey cried, placing his hands on the tree that the casket would soon be buried under, "I shoulda known that it was too good to last!"

"Casey, calm down." April said soothingly.

"Mr. Jones," said Master Splinter softly, "Before we begin the burial, will you kindly bring over the marker you have made? We do not want to forget where we are going to bury the casket."

"How can I forget?" asked Casey, "This was the same tree that he used to play that prank on-"

"I wouldn't go there if I were you, Case," Donnie warned, speaking a little too quickly, and looking just a little too guilty.

Everyone looked at Donnie and wondered how he knew what prank Casey was talking about, however, everyone wisely decided not to question him.

"Nonetheless, we require the marker," said Splinter.

"I-I'm on it," Casey said, running away from the group.

"Maybe he'll be more composed when he gets back," said April hopefully.

"Maybe," Master Splinter commented, looking at the teddy bear inside the casket, "But I hope that in his grief he remembers the marker. We will need it if we want to dig this thing up again."

"What Master Splinter means," Donnie quickly interjected, giving his Sensei a look, "is that without the marker we might have to dig around to find where we buried the casket when Leo gets here."

"Ah," said April, "That makes sense. It's such a shame that Leo was unable to come today."

"Yeah," said Angel, "I hope he gets over his chickenpox soon. I had that once, and it was _awful. _Although it was nice not having to go to school. Even though I went anyway."

"Chickenpox?" Donnie whispered quietly to Mikey.

"I got a little carried away, alright?"

"A _little_?"

"Leatherhead also wanted to come," said April, "But we couldn't find a way to sneak him safely out of the city. He sent his condolences."

"Which are much appreciated," said Master Splinter, "Ah, Mr. Jones has returned!"

"Here ya go, Masta Splinter Sir," said Casey, carrying something wooden and heavy while tears fell unchecked down his face, "This thing can mark the burial spot without attracting attention."

"Actually, Casey," said April, "That might attract _too _much attention."

"Yeah, but at least it ain't a headstone saying _'Here Lies a Mutant Ninja Turtle'_," Casey explained.

"What is it?" asked Mikey.

"When I set it up, it will be one of them garden gates that flowers grow on," said Casey, setting the wooden thing down on the ground next to Splinter. "Not exactly Raph's style, but it does the trick, and is hard to miss. Whew! Does anyone else here smell onions?"

"What flowers will grow under the shade of a _tree_?" asked Mikey, changing the subject away from onions.

"I don't know, lots of flowers!" snapped Casey.

"Guys, guys!" said Donnie, stepping forward and putting out both arms, as if he was going to separate the two of them, "Quit fighting! You're at a funeral, for Pete's sake. What do you think Raph will say when he finds out about this, huh? He's going to be pretty upset, that's what!"

Everyone stared at him.

"Um," said Donnie, "Sorry, I kind of forgot…"

He awkwardly stepped back.

"Busted," snickered Mikey.

"Oh be quiet," Don whispered back.

"Now that we are ready," Master Splinter sighed, mentally giving himself a facepalm, "We will commence with the burial."

He slowly closed the casket, and lifted the small box carefully in both hands. He bent down to place it in the small hole in the ground, new onion tears streaming down his face.

Just as he was about to place the casket within the hole, a cell phone rang.

"My bad," Angel apologized, and unwisely answered her phone, "Hello? Oh hi Leatherhead! How's it going, LH?"

The silence was awkward.

"No, this isn't a bad time at all!...Um, no, they're all here. Well, except for Leo, because he's got Chickenpox…I know, right?...… Weird… Um, okay….all right…fine, I'll tell them. Got to get back to the funeral. Later!"

Angel hung up her phone.

"False alarm," she anounced, "LH was about to call April, but her phone was off. Apparently rumors are flying around that a giant turtle is on the rampage in the city, and he was wondering if it was any of you guys."

"What _kind _of rampage? Ow!" said Mikey, grimacing as Don elbowed him.

"The really strange kind," Angel explained, "LH only mentioned that the guy threw an ice cream truck, attacked an apartment complex, stole a tank and broke into the History museum. Of course these are only rumors, but still, it's weird, huh?"

Master Splinter, Don and Mikey exchanged quick glances.

"Yeah, _really _weird. Ow! What is your _problem_, Donatello?" Mikey asked, rubbing his side where Don had elbowed it again.

"My sons and honored guests," Splinter said, "Perhaps we should continued with the funeral of our loved one."

He turned back to the hole in the ground, and this time there was complete silence as he placed the small casket within the hole. As he did, however, he muttered some words, too quietly for anyone else to make out.

"Leonardo and Raphael," he whispered, "You two _better _have stayed in the lair!"


	7. In Trouble Already

_Thanks again to all those reading/reviewing/faving/following and giving constructive criticism :D A special thank you to IAmTheDragonEmpress for the idea of Follow the Leader! It was incorporated a little into this story. _

* * *

CHAPTER SEVEN

In the comfortable depths of the lair, Leonardo lowered his swords and stared uneasily at Raphael, who was _once again_ copying his move. The idea that he was becoming a kind of mentor to _Raph _was a little unnerving. This was getting absurd.

"Raphael," he said, relaxing his fighting stance, "Are you copying me?"

"Uh," said Raph, before deciding to change the topic, "Why are we stopping, Unca Leo? Don't you want to battle some more?"

"Not now," said Leo, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand, "I need a break."

"Oh come _on,_" said Raph, "We only fought for ten minutes, I think. My brother Leo can fight for _lots_ more time than that. And I can fight for just as long as he can. Maybe even longer!"

"Um, that's nice," said Leo, "But we've been at this for half an hour. How about a snack?"

"No, I'm not hungry," said Raph, "I want to keep fighting."

"Later," said Leo tiredly.

Internally, he groaned. Master Splinter had already practiced with Raph today, so why wasn't this kid worn out already? Not only had they been sparring, but before Leo had convinced Raph to battle they had already played _Follow the Leader_, _Simon Says_ and even _Mother May I, _which they had renamed _Father May I_. In every game Raph had played the part of the one giving the orders. By now, Leonardo was exhausted.

The most annoying game for Leo was _Father May I_, because whenever Leo asked to move forward Raph always answered 'no' and, to add insult to injury, ordered Leo to step backwards instead. By the time Leo was standing in the closet Raph got bored and ended the game, pronouncing himself the winner.

"Then how about 'nother game?" suggested Raph.

"What _kind _of ga-"

Raph interrupted him by running up to him, touching his arm, and then running out of the room.

"Tag, you're it! Ha ha!" he called out.

"Wait!" cried Leo, running after him, "We can't play tag here! It's too small!"

"Ya gotta follow me, Leo!" Raph called out, "I'm leavin'!"

Suddenly Leo paused as he realized what Raph was about to do.

"Raphael, no!" He cried out, "Stay in the lair!"

But it was too late. Raph had already opened the door and was currently running through the sewers.

"_Raph!_" called out Leo, closing the door and running after him.

Raph had turned the corner. So he was heading for the manhole closest to April's house, Leo reasoned.

Gritting his teeth, Leo burst after his brother. After several minutes of running, Leo saw a small burst of light down the tunnel.

The kind of light which only came from an open manhole.

That meant that his brother had gone up to the surface. In broad daylight.

_Oh _NO,_ he didn't! _Leo thought, before saying outloud, "He is in _so _much trouble!"

Following his brother's trail, Leo quickly climbed up the ladder and out of the sewer, rapidly replacing the manhole cover. Spying a small piece of flying red on a nearby roof, Leo jumped up the nearest fire escape and climbed onto the roof.

Panting with both hands on his knees, Raph didn't have much energy to run anymore when Leo caught up to him on the roof and snatched him up in both arms.

"Al-alright, Leo," panted Raph, "You win."

"Do you realize how dangerous that was?" Leo said, his voice shaking with fear, "Splinter told us not to leave the lair, remember?"

"I'm sorry Unca Leo, I forgot," said Raph, still panting, "I really did. Now will you put me down?"

Leo sat down on the roof, but refused to let go of his brother. He was shaking too much, and didn't know if he could chase his brother again should Raph decide to play another game of tag.

Funny that Leo could handle hordes of Foot Ninjas and Purple Dragons coming at him all at once, but a runaway seven year old caused him to collapse on the roof a trembling heap.

Raph knew something was wrong.

"Unca L-leo?" he said, touching Leonardo's cheek, "Are you alright?"

He gave Leo a small hug, to help him out. Leo responded by grasping his brother more tightly and then bursting into tears.

"Don't you _ever _do that again," he sobbed.

"Alright, Leo. I won't." said Raph, on the verge of crying. He was only about to cry because Leo was crying, and that was making him upset.

After a few minutes, Leo composed himself and stood up, picking up his brother as he did so.

"I can walk, you know," said Raph.

"Not now Raphael," said Leo, "We're going home."

He walked to the edge of the roof, intent upon leaving down the same manhole they had arrived from. But he abruptly stopped.

"Oh no," he said.

Over the manhole was a van, completely blocking any access to said manhole. And if that wasn't bad enough, the van most likely belonged to those men who were standing next to it, leaning on it and moving equipment into it. But what made it worse was that those men were clearly members of the Purple Dragon gang. And to put the icing on the cake, one of those men pointed towards Leo and Raph as they stood upon the roof.

They had been spotted.

"Oh, this _so _isn't good," said Leo, shifting Raph under his arm and turning to run across the roof.

"Unca Leo, are we gonna be okay?" asked Raph from his new position under the crook of Leo's arm.

"Yes Raph, we're going to be fine," said Leo, his attention focused on the roof ahead of them, "We just have to find a way to get out of here."

"Leo, they're coming at us from behind! I can hear them climbing the fire escape," Raph said, sounding scared.

"I know," said Leo, jumping across a space between buildings while trying to think of a way out of this mess.

How was he going to do this? The Purple Dragons weren't ninjas, but they could still follow them across the roof. And with their stolen or borrowed technology, they might easily bring in a helicopter. Besides, this was Daylight, and mutant turtles were easily spotted then. So his only option now was to somehow misdirect the Purple Dragons.

"Hang on, Raph, I've got an idea!" Leo announced, and with his foot he burst open the rooftop door of whatever building they were currently on.

Quickly entering and closing the door behind them, Leo ran down the stairs, his brother still under his arm. Judging by the way this place looked, it was an apartment complex.

"Leo?" Raph whispered.

Leo stopped on the stairs, placing his free hand over his brother's mouth to signal that he should be quiet.

The sound of a door slamming open above them broke the silence.

They were still being followed.

Leo ran out of the stairwell at the nearest floor and into the apartment's empty hallway. Speed was of the essence right now; they needed to get out of sight in order to get away.

Raph tried wrangling Leo's hand off of his mouth, but Leo wouldn't let him. Suddenly he spied something. An idea formed in his head, and he hesitated for a split-second before deciding that it was the best course of action. Sprinting further down the hallway, Leo set Raph down and pulled the fire alarm. Drawing one katana, which he hid behind his back, he stood protectively in front of his brother and waited. If this plan backfired he wanted Raph to be safe.

"Stay behind me, Raph," he ordered as the fire alarm began to resound through the building.

Raphael nodded and then clenched his fists, prepared to fight.

"What's the plan?" asked Raph.

"If you want to hide a leaf," Leo explained, "You construct a forest!"

Doors all along the hallway began opening, and the residents began pouring out, intent upon leaving the building.

Suddenly someone screamed. All of a sudden, people all through the hallway were pouring down the stairways in a mass panic, shouting things about a monster attacking their apartment.

Yup. Leo's great plan to 'hide amongst the humans and follow them out of the building' had backfired. What a surprise.

Quickly, Leo sheathed his sword and grabbed Raph by the wrist before entering one of the empty rooms left behind by a scared citizen. He let go of his brother and locked the door behind them.

The small apartment consisted of a hallway, a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom and a bedroom.

"Alright," Leo said, looking into the front hall closet and pulling out some articles of clothing, "We don't have much time."

With Raph watching, Leo ran to the bedroom and tore a sheet off of the bed. He began forming it into a rope, intertwining it with the clothing he had found.

"Here's the plan: this side of the building doesn't have any fire escapes, so we're going to have to scale down the building."

"But Unca Leo, everyone will see us," Raph pointed out.

"That can't be helped," Leo said, tying the make-shift rope around his brother's waist, "The Purple Dragons know we're here, and Sensei and the others are too far away to help. Besides, if we don't leave soon we'll have to deal with the Police. Come on, we've got to hurry!"

He then sat Raph down on the bed and knelt down, then began tying the rope around himself as well. In the end, Raph was firmly tied to his chest in a kind of a hug.

"Leo, this is embarrassing!" Raph complained.

"Tough," said Leo, "We both know you're not up to scaling the building face, so we're going to have to deal with it."

Leo then stood up and ran to the bedroom window, which he opened.

"Here goes," and he climbed out.

Leonardo knew he had to be fast, before anyone decided to spot him and subsequently shoot at them. Finding the hidden crevices of the building, he scaled the wall downwards.

Raph whimpered against his chest.

"It's going to be okay Raphael," said Leo calmly.

Thinking quickly he scaled the building sideways, so that he turned the corner of the building. This gave him the opportunity to jump onto the neighboring building. He broke the first window he found and slipped inside to avoid anyone chasing him, while instinctively drawing his weapons upon landing inside.

Just his luck. The room was full of adults in work clothes and party hats eating a retirement cake.

Splinter was going to have his shell.

Thankfully, the people were too busy screaming to think of fighting the giant turtle with something wrapped around his chest. Running past these people and out the room, Leo found the stairs and began running towards street level. If he could make it to the streets, they were as good as home!

Suddenly Leo stopped.

"Unca Leo? What's wrong?" Raph asked.

"He's coming down! I can hear 'im!" shouted a voice somewhere below.

Great. Now the Purple Dragons were in _this _building too. What should he do?

"Leo?" Raph asked him quietly, "They're followin' us again."

Without answering, Leo left the staircase at the nearest floor. The old turtle luck was right on track; this level was full of cubicles. Leo probably gained the attention of just about everyone in the crowded workplace as he ran down a center pathway that hopefully led somewhere.

He really needed to keep a lower profile.

"Leo, let's fight 'em," Raph suggested quietly, "We can take 'em, I know it!"

Leo ignored him and burst into a nearby office, which held the nearest window. Outside was a small park area, consisting of about two trees, intended to break the monotony of the concrete jungle.

Leo smashed the window with his fist, using the time-honored technique of how to open a window in a hurry. This level, thankfully, was much lower to the ground.

Raph realized what was going to happen about a millisecond before Leo announced it.

"Hold on tight," Leo commanded, and he felt Raph's grip tighten just before he threw the both of them out the window.


	8. More Trouble

_Here's the next part of Leo's adventures with young Raph! Enjoy!_

* * *

CHAPTER 8

Leo snagged a tree on the way down, and expertly twisted so that he landed softly on the ground below with Raph still tied to him.

"Are you alright?" Leo asked his brother.

"That was fun! Can we do it again?" Raph asked hopefully.

"Not now," said Leo, running down the street.

He would have attempted to 'stick to the shadows', but that wasn't very well accomplished during daylight. Luckily, however, there was a car coming down the street. It nearly ran him over in surprise, but that gave Leo just enough time to run up to it, snatch the driver out of the car and seat himself behind the wheel.

"Leo, 'm squished," said Raph, still tied to Leo.

"Tough," said Leo firmly, with the resolve that he could drive with a seven year old uncomfortably on his lap, "We're getting out of here _now_!"

The car squealed down the road, leaving a flabbergasted human driver behind.

"Alright," said Leo, "All the manholes are going to be guarded real soon, and they're most likely going to follow this car. Where should we go?"

"How 'bout the other side of town?" asked Raph, sounding uncomfortable, "No one ever looks there."

"Maybe," said Leo, "But unless we want to lead them back to the lair, we have to find a quick way to get away from them."

"We can hide somewhere for a few hours," said Raph, "You put some human clothing in this bedsheet rope, right? So we can blend in somewhere."

"Raph, I'm not sure that we can blend in _any_where," said Leo, "But it's worth a shot. Where should we go?"

"Someplace the bad guys don't normally go," said Raph, "So that they won't think to look for us there. Like a library or a museum."

"Good idea," said Leo, "The History museum is closest."

After taking several turns in New York traffic, Leo and Raph ditched the car in an alley. Before they left the alley, however, Leo untied Raph and threw the bedsheet into the car, then covered himself and his brother in the clothing they had taken from the apartment.

"Alright," Leo said, "We're going to have to be as human and inconspicuous as possible. We're-"

"They went this way!" called out a voice.

"Shell," said Leo, grabbing Raph by the hand and starting to run, "Alright Raph, change of plans. They're going to just keep following us, so we can't just walk inside the front entrance. We've got to break into the museum by the back way if we want to lose them."

Leo led his brother through the alley until they came to the back of the museum, and ran up to the back door. Taking out his katanas, he pried the door open and yanked his brother inside, closing it behind them.

Unfortunately, an innocent museum worker had just been about to exit the door. The man took one look at the swords and two looks at Leo before bursting into a scream that would put Mikey to shame. Before Leo could say anything, he then ran as far inside the building as possible. Leo was thankful that the man didn't seem to notice Raph standing behind him.

"Come on," Leo said, and he led Raph deeper inside the building, "Let's find a good place to hide."

"Leo," Raph whimpered, "I'm tired and hungry."

Leo sighed. He wished Raph had just taken the snack, like he suggested back in the lair.

After a quick trip to the restroom to ensure that their disguises would not evoke any more reactions, Leo and Raph made their way to the museum café, where Leo bought Raph something to eat using money found in the pocket of his borrowed coat. As Raph was eating, however, the young turtle slowly began drifting off to sleep. It was around that time that three or four policemen filtered into the café. There were probably more of them elsewhere.

"Officer, what's going on?" asked the man at the table across from Leonardo and Raphael.

"There's been a few incidents around town," the officer said, "Some crazy fellow dressed up as a turtle has been terrorizing the neighborhood, and there's been a report that he's been sighted here."

Leonardo stiffened, and glanced at Raph. His brother was already out of it, and was slumped over the table.

Wouldn't it be a riot if they avoided the Purple Dragons, but were caught by the police instead?

"Are we safe, Officer?" someone asked.

"Oh, you're perfectly safe," said the Officer, "This is just a precaution, after all. We're not even sure if the rumor is true. We're just checking it out, go about your business as usual."

As soon as the policemen had checked the café, they left the room. It was then that Leo gently shook his brother awake.

"Raph, wake up," he said.

"Wha-?" Raph asked sleepily.

Drats. In this condition Raph was not going to be much help. He had let him rest a little too long. Leo wasn't sure if he could run with him for much longer, or if Raph could run on his own.

"Come along," Leo said, "We're going home."

Slowly standing up, Leo prodded Raph to do so as well and then began leading him out of the building.

_Easy does it_, Leo thought. There could be more policemen around. At least with the policemen so close by, the Purple Dragons were hopefully long gone.

Hopefully.

Leo led his brother out of the museum's front door.

He glanced up and down the busy street, but couldn't tell if the Purple Dragons were around. But he knew that as soon as he left the block, they would surround him. In fact, they probably already had all the sewers surrounded.

They were most likely blocking every chance he had to get into the sewers.

But he wouldn't let them take his brother again.

Leonardo looked down the street once more, and this time he noticed the policecars parked out front.

He smiled. Of course!

"Raph," he whispered to his brother, "Do exactly as I say, and we can go home to bed. Alright?"

"Alright," yawned Raph.

Leo tightened his hold on his brother's hand and led him up to a policecar. Inside this car, a lone policeman was looking over some papers as he waited for his pals in the museum to come back out.

Raph gave Leo a look, but Leo ignored it. Instead, he tapped on the policeman's window.

The officer gave one look at him, and Leo took apart his head coverings.

With a start, the officer opened the door and attempted to make an arrest.

"You-you're the-" he said, but that was as far as he got out. Within seconds, he was standing on the ground stunned while Leo and Raph were speeding away in his car.

"Raph," said Leo, "Before you pass out again, will you find out how to turn on the lights and the siren?"

Raphael yawned, but pressed onto buttons until he found the right ones. As soon as the lights and sirens were on, Leo smiled. The Purple Dragons weren't going to stick around any manholes if a policecar was approaching with blazing sirens.

"Ha!" Leo laughed, "We should make it to the lair in no time."

As they raced through an intersection, Leo noticed a turned-over ice cream truck. Some crazy guy in a green costume was standing on top of it, dancing while he ate ice cream.

"That's weird," said Leo, "Hey Raph, did you see that?"

He turned to Raphael, but his brother was fast asleep again, curled up in a ball across the length of the passenger seat.

Not long after that, Leo drove the policecar directly up to a manhole, picked up his sleeping brother and carried him safely home. As soon as the door was locked behind him he set Raph down to sleep on the couch, and plopped himself down on the chair.

Wow. Leo was _not _proud of himself today. The police and the ordinary citizen would find their cars, he knew, but he was going to somehow get the money and clothes back to the citizen from the apartment. That is, when the Purple Dragons aren't on their tails and when Sensei finally lets him out of the lair.

Leo glanced at his sleeping brother and covered him with a blanket. Young Raph sure was cute, especially when he slept.

"I wonder how long this peace will last?" Leo asked himself.

A quick glance at the clock told him that it would take at least another hour before the rest of the family was back from Casey's grandmother's farmhouse.

Leo sighed, and just for good measure he turned on the news. The top story was a report on some absurd rumors concerning a giant turtle that had been attacking the town. At this time, the heinous crimes of this turtle, as reported by the news, included snatching works of art from museums, stealing a tank, maliciously attacking an entire apartment building and waving firecrackers dangerously close to people's faces.

Once again Leonardo sighed. Yep. He was in _big _trouble.


	9. Babysitter Donnie

_Hey there! Here is the newest chapter. Thanks again for reading, reviewing, etc.! Be not alarmed, but regular updates might not occur as frequently. It is all part of life._

* * *

CHAPTER NINE

Master Splinter opened the door to the lair and calmly walked inside. Unfortunately, it was the calm before the storm. Master Splinter was _mad_, and everyone knew it. Mikey and Donnie had been carefully avoiding him for the entire ride home.

Splinter took in the fact that Leonardo was in the room, and had been watching the news. At his entrance, however, Leo turned off the television and then stood up to bow to his Sensei.

Donnie and Mikey, who had followed Splinter inside the lair, wisely kept silent.

"Leonardo," said Splinter, "Where is Raphael?"

"Asleep on the couch, Sensei," said Leonardo, gesturing to the couch beside him.

Splinter fairly ran over to the couch and registered that Raph was indeed asleep, and perfectly fine.

"Leonardo," Splinter finally said, "At the funeral, Leatherhead called us about some certain…rumors."

"Ah." said Leo.

"So you know which rumors I am speaking about," asked Splinter, caressing the sleeping Raphael's forehead.

"They are all over the news, Sensei," said Leonardo.

"Leonardo," said Splinter, "Tell me that wasn't you."

Leo gulped, and at that, Splinter sighed.

"Leonardo, I am very disappointed in you," he said.

"I know, Sensei," said Leo.

"Your actions have consequences that extend not only to yourself, but also to us," said Splinter, "Donatello cannot risk going to the junkyard tonight because of this, and will be unable to go for a few days. This means that the only work he can do to help Raphael is that which can be done in his laboratory."

Leo winced. He hadn't realized that all this craziness might delay Don's research.

"There will be a punishment, of course," said Splinter, "For Raphael as well, when he wakes up. Meet me in my room in an hour, Leonardo. We will discuss what has happened, and what your particular punishment shall be."

Leonardo gulped, nodded and then dropped his head, staring at the floor. He was aware that his Sensei had slowly left the room.

"Leo, what happened?" asked Donnie as soon as Master Splinter was gone.

"It was my fault," Leo sighed, "He ran out of the lair and I couldn't catch him fast enough."

"So, what happened?" asked Mikey, "And did you really steal a tank?"

"It wasn't a tank," said Leo, "It was a policecar. I don't know where the media got the idea that it was a _tank_."

There was silence in the room. Well, it would have been silent, but everyone could hear Mikey mutter something along the lines of "a tank woulda been _so_ cool".

"Well, I'll bet the ice cream tasted good," said Mikey out loud.

"What ice cream?" asked Leo.

"You mean you didn't tear apart an ice cream truck?" asked Mikey.

Leonardo shook his head 'no'.

"Um," said Donnie, "Perhaps you should tell us what happened."

"Yeah," said Mikey, "But first, before I forget, April and Angel told me to tell you they hope you get over your chickenpox soon."

"Chickenpox?" asked Leo, raising an eyebrow, "I think you went a little overboard, Mikey."

Donnie sighed.

"Please," he said, "Tell us everything that happened today."

"Alright," said Leo, his eyes glued to the floor.

* * *

During the night, Raphael stirred uncomfortably. He awoke to find himself sleeping on the couch. Curled up beside him was Leonardo, while his Sensei was sitting in the nearby armchair.

Raph lay back down, before he realized something awesome. His Sensei was home! Carefully stepping off the couch so that he wouldn't waken Leo, he snuck over to the armchair and snuggled into Master Splinter's lap.

Splinter awoke at the movement and smiled. He covered his son with the blanket.

"Raphael," Splinter said, "You left the lair today."

"Sorry Sensei," said Raph, "I forgot. I really did."

"Nevertheless, that does not excuse your actions," said Splinter, "You know that the surface is off limits. I have already assigned Leonardo his punishment for disobeying my orders. In the morning, I will give you a punishment as well."

Raph turned red, and hid his face in his Sensei's arms.

"Yes Sensei," he said softly.

Splinter repositioned the blanket, and a few minutes later, they both fell asleep again.

* * *

The next morning, Donnie woke up to find a sleeping turtle using his arm as a pillow.

"Raph?" Don asked sleepily, "What are you doing in my room?"

Raphael groaned and slowly opened his eyes to look at his brother.

"Was wit Sensei," he murmured, "But ya were lonely."

With those words, Raph closed his eyes and plopped his head back on Donatello's arm.

Donnie looked at him, completely confused. A small laugh drew his attention to the door.

"Sensei?" Don asked, looking at the rat standing in the doorway.

"So this is where Raphael went. Stay with your brother a little longer, Donatello," Splinter commanded, not moving to enter the room, "He had a long day yesterday and needs his sleep. I will allow you both to sleep in today before I assign Raphael his punishment."

"Um, thanks," said Donnie.

"Donatello," said Splinter, "I have thought it over, and I have decided that it would be best if we obtained those instruments that you need _tonight_ rather than later this week."

"You mean those instruments I will use to cure Raph, right?" asked Donnie, feeling his brother breathe into his chest.

"Exactly," said Splinter, "I myself will go to the junkyard with two of my sons."

"Sounds good," said Don, slowly falling asleep.

"You will stay here with Raphael."

Suddenly Donnie was out of bed and across the room, standing in front of Master Splinter. Surprisingly, Raph did not wake up due to the loss of his pillow.

"What?" asked Donnie, "But I need to identify the instruments!"

"Donatello, calm down," said Splinter, laying one paw on Don's shoulder, "You will use the computer to print out pictures of everything you need. We can and will identify them."

"But Master Splinter," said Donnie, "Can't Mikey or Leo stay home? I really should be there."

"My son," said Splinter, "Michelangelo has very keen eyesight. We have very little time to collect what we need, and his gifts are needed most at the junkyard. And as for Leonardo…suffice it to say that, after the events that transpired yesterday, I do not think it prudent to trust him with the care of Raphael again. At least, not for a while. Therefore, I am enlisting _you _to watch over him while we go to the junkyard tonight."

"But Sensei," said Donnie, "I need to work in my lab, I don't have time to watch over anyone!"

"Donatello," said Splinter firmly, "You must sacrifice one night of work, the same way that you would be sacrificing it if you were going to the junkyard. Do you understand, my son?"

Donnie hung his head.

"Yes Sensei," he said.

"Good," Splinter nodded. A smile formed on his lips, "Now that you are up, how would you like to help me prepare breakfast? I am certain that Raphael will be very hungry when he awakens. And he will certainly need a healthy breakfast if he is to fulfill his punishment by the end of the day."

"Master Splinter, if you don't mind my asking, what _is _Raph's punishment?" Donnie asked.

Splinter smiled.

"Both Raphael and Leonardo are going to clean the lair," he said, watching Donnie's jaw drop in shock, "From top to bottom."

"M-master," said Don, "Isn't that a little _hard?_ Even as a punishment?"

"No, I find it quite appropriate," Splinter reasoned, "I will go easier on Raphael, however, due to his age. He will be allowed to use the majority of the cleaning supplies. Leonardo, however, will only use the toothbrush."

As Splinter left for the kitchen, he was aware that Don was still standing with his jaw open, and not making any move to follow him.

Splinter smiled. The punishment may be difficult, but his sons were Ninjas. They could handle it. And anyway, a punishment of this magnitude would _certainly_ discourage this from ever happening again.

* * *

Hours later, after Leonardo and Raph had finished their punishment-with Leo graciously doing most of the work-the boys had all been left to their own devices. This may or may not have been a good thing.

"Yes!" said Mikey, pumping his fist, "I won!"

"No fair!" said Raph, "You cheated!"

"Nuh uh," said Mikey, "I won fair 'n' square! Face it Raphie, you're losing your touch!"

"Don't call me Raphie!" Raph yelled, "LEO! COME QUICK! Mikey's _cheating_!"

"No way!" said Mikey, defending himself, "_Raph's_ the one cheating! He tried moving his piece three more spaces than he should have!"

"No!" said Raph, "You shuffled the cards so that you would land on the purple square and win the game! I saw you!"

"Guys, what's this all about?" Leo asked tiredly, walking into the room. His raised an eyebrow when he looked at the boardgame set out on the table.

"Sorry Raph, it looks like Mikey won," Leo announced, "But you guys can always play again."

"But he cheated, Leo!" said Raph, pointing at Mikey.

"No, _he _cheated!" Mikey complained, pointing at Raph.

Leo groaned and rubbed his forehead.

"Guys, you _do _know that you can't exactly cheat at Candyland, right?" he asked.

"Raph's just mad 'cause he's only at the Lollipop Princess," Mikey said.

"No, it's 'cause ya cheated!" said Raph, clenching his fists and aiming them towards Mikey.

"Enough!" said Master Splinter, coming into the room, "Do not argue over a game, my sons. It is almost time for us to leave for the junkyard."

Raphael jumped up from the floor and ran towards his Sensei.

"Can I come? Please, Masta Splinta, can I come? Please?"

"No Raphael," said Splinter, "You must stay home and take care of Donatello. He will be sorely tempted to use his laboratory, I imagine. You must see to it that he plays with you and does not work tonight. Do you understand, my son?"

"Yes Masta Splinta," said Raphael, grinning at the amount of responsibility his Sensei was trusting him with.

"Um, Master Splinter," said Mikey, "I think that I should, you know, stay home. I mean, I don't know about this…"

"Michelangelo," said Master Splinter, "You have been watching, or should I say, _playing_ with Raphael ever since he finished cleaning the lair. It is high time someone else took a turn. Besides, you are needed at the junkyard tonight."

"Yes Sensei," Mikey sighed.

"Donatello," said Master Splinter, "We shall return by morning at the latest. Bedtime is at seven thirty for all little turtles."

He began heading towards the door, "Behave, my sons!" he warned.

Within minutes, Splinter, Leo and Mikey were gone.

Donnie sighed.

"Alright," he said, turning to Raphael, "Um, would you like to play Candyland with me?"

"Nah," said Raph, "I've been playing board games all day. I'm _bored _of them. Heh heh, get it?"

"Yes Raph, I got it," said Donnie, rolling his eyes, "Um, I think I can get you some of your toys to play with."

"My toys?" asked Raph, "I was wonderin' where they went! Where are they?"

"Well," said Donnie, "If you stay here quietly, I'll go get some of them for you."

"Lemme come too!" said Raph.

"No!" said Donnie, "I mean, uh, I need you here to guard this board game!"

"Candyland?" asked Raph, cocking his head, "Ya think someone will come in and take a board game?"

"Um, sure, let's go with that," said Donnie, "I'll be right back, I promise!"

Donnie ran quickly into his bedroom and opened his closet. He didn't want young Raph to see that all their old toys had been in storage for many years, or that most of Raph's toys had ended up in Donnie's closet.

Don took out a storage container and opened it up. He smiled as he pulled out a homemade stuffed animal, protected in a plastic bag. He took it out of the plastic, and found that it was just as fresh as the day he packed it.

He smelled it, and coughed.

Okay, maybe it wasn't _that _fresh when he had packed it.

Don pulled out a few more toys from the box, such as a few toy cars, and then carefully hid the box back in his closet.

He walked into the living room, and placed everything on the floor.

Then he gasped.

"Raphael!" he yelled, "What did you _do_?"

The lair was covered in toilet paper, and pots and pans were hanging from some rope strung across the doorway of the lair.

"I decided to set booby traps all over the house," Raph explained, walking up to Donnie with a few water balloons in his arms and a smile on his face, "To keep anyone from coming in an' stealing our games!"

Donnie groaned. Of course, he should _never _have suggested that someone could come in and take the board game.

It was astonishing, though, at how much Raphael had managed to get done before Don came back from his bedroom.

"That was very smart of you Raph," he said, "But I don't think Master Splinter will quite appreciate it. And now that I'm back and can protect you, we're going to have to clean this place up."

"Aw, I _already _cleaned the lair today," said Raph, setting the water balloons down on the floor and proceeding to untie the pots and pans by the doorway, "But can we leave up my traps to protect Masta Splinta's room? There's this one I put over his bed, that-"

"Raphael!" Donnie yelled, "_Everything _has to be taken down."

"Geesh, lighten up," said Raph, "I'm going!"

He glanced over at the toys Donnie had laid out on the floor.

"WOW!" he called out, "It's Mr. Man! And my cars! And my-"

"You can play with them _after _the lair is clean," said Donnie firmly.

"Sure thing!" said Raph, and he began cleaning a little bit faster.

A few minutes later, Raph was happily reintroducing himself to his toys.

"It's good tuh see ya too, Mr. Man!" said Raph, hugging the homemade bunny-rabbit stuffed animal, "Will ya play cars wit me? Ya will? Awesome! Unca Donnie, me an' Mr. Man here are gonna play cars!"

"That's nice Raph," said Donnie, impatiently looking at the clock. As soon as Raph was asleep, Donnie was going to get back into his lab. Hopefully that would be soon, he had a lot to do tonight.

Don looked up as someone poked him in the shoulder. Raph was standing in front of him, dragging the rabbit by the ears.

"Unca Donnie," said Raph, looking very solemn, "Mr. Man wants tuh know if you'll play wit us."

Donnie sighed, then spoke.

"Sure thing, Raph," he smiled, "Can I have the purple car?"

* * *

Raphael snuck out of the covers, pulling Mr. Man with him. After playing with Uncle Donnie, the older turtle had given him dinner and then began initiating a bedtime routine that the younger turtle found exceptionally annoying. Brushing teeth was a pain at best, but brushing them five times because Uncle Donnie said so was pure torture. The good part, at least, was that right after his bedtime prayers he had been rewarded when Don read him three picture books of his choice before tucking him in bed.

Now, however, Raphael had a job to do. He had to make sure that Uncle Donnie was in bed and not in his lab.

Peeking into the room, Raph confirmed that Don was indeed working in his lab. With a smirk on his face, Raph entered the room.

"Time for bed Unca Donnie!" he said loudly.

"Raph!" Donnie jerked upwards, startled, "What are you doing out of bed?"

"Masta Splinta said that it's m'job to make sure ya get to bed," said Raph, smiling innocently. Or not so innocently, depending upon how you saw it.

"Raph, not now," said Donnie, "I'm in the middle of something important. I think I'm onto something! Tell you what Raph, go back to bed and I won't tell Splinter that you ever left it."

Raph frowned, and left the lab. There had to be _some _way to get Donnie out of there!

His frown turned into a grin as he thought of an idea.

"Hey Unca!" he called out, "I'm leaving the lair! Come after me!"

"Go back to bed, Raph." Don responded.

Raph moved closer to the front door.

"I'm really leaving, Unca Donnie!" he called out.

"Raph, _bed_."

"That's it, I'm opening the door!" Raph called, opening the front door as he spoke, "I've got one foot out the door!"

"Raph," said Don warningly.

"Fine!" Raph called back, getting impatient, "I'm _leaving_!"

Raphael then stepped out the door completely, and slammed it behind him.

Don looked up at the sound.

"Raph?" he asked.

Silence.

"Raphael!" Don cried, and he jumped up from his chair, heading for the front door.

Didn't that kid learn _already_ learn his lesson about not leaving the lair?!


	10. Sewer Dragons!

_Another chapter! Yes, this author is still alive! (complete shock, right?) However, regular updates might not be as frequent. Not because I'm giving up on this story, it is more like Life just got a little too crazy for daily updates. Sorry folks, but my studies take precedence!_

* * *

CHAPTER TEN

Raph laughed to himself as he ran down the sewers.

"C-come find me Unca Donnie," he chortled, and then stopped to hide behind a corner. He couldn't help but chuckle as he stood there.

A shadow turned the corner and stood in front of him.

"Gotcha," said a rough voice, and the owner of the voice grabbed Raph firmly by the shoulders.

All Raph could see was the Dragon tattoo on the person's arm. Something was very, very wrong. What was this guy doing here in the sewers? And what was he-oh no.

Donnie stopped in midtrack as the scream echoed down the sewer.

Raphael was in trouble. Again.

Racing towards the sound, Don turned the corner and spotted the Purple Dragon holding his brother over his shoulder. Raph was kicking his feet as hard as he could, but that did nothing to release the man's grip.

"LET ME GO!"

"PUT HIM DOWN!" Don cried, springing forward.

"Get back!" the Purple Dragon called, noticeably tightening his hold on Raph and motioning to the knife in his belt, "Or he's as good as dead!"

Donnie froze, but his face hardened.

"Stay back," said the Purple Dragon, inching backwards, "You just stay back, freak!"

"DONNIE!" Raph cried out angrily, kicking a little harder.

"Shut up!" the man chastised, then turned his head to face Don, "My pals will be here soon. If ya follow us, he's a gonner!"

Don was not going to stand for this. He was a ninja, for Pete's sake! Snarling, he burst forward to tear his brother from the man holding him captive.

A small sound saved his life. Turning, he barely caught the Purple Dragon sneaking up behind him in time to hit him with his bo staff. Knocking him out of the way, he then swung his staff at the man's head and knocked him out cold.

He turned back to the man holding his brother, but he was already gone. A quick burst of light down the tunnel, coupled with a muffled shout from Raph, told him that they had just left up a manhole around the corner.

Don raced down the sewer and climbed up the ladder that they must have taken. Throwing off the manhole without any regard for caution, he instantly spotted a large, unmarked van speeding down the road.

Instantly, he raced down the street, disregarding anything in his path.

"RAPH! I'M COMING!" he cried out, ignoring the stares of a couple walking down the road.

"Think he's in a play or something, with that costume?" the woman asked.

"Nah," said the man, "These New Yorkers are crazy. Come on, we'll be late."

Donnie tried his best, but after a block or two-maybe three-he still hadn't caught up to the van.

It was too far for him to catch on foot. And he was getting tired.

Donnie carefully gauged his options. He needed to slow them down, or follow where they were going. Taking a few throwing stars from his belt, he took a few seconds to judge the wind and then threw the stars are expertly as he could.

All four found their mark, and Don smiled. Even from his great distance away, he could see the four tires flatten. The car swerved, and crashed into an overhanging light post.

Don began running to catch up to it, not caring for the moment if anyone spotted him.

Because his brother was in danger.

* * *

Raph growled, only to be rewarded by an elbow jabbing into his side. It was squished in here. He had counted twelve people, before he lost his patience when he realized he had counted the same human at least twice. So there probably were less than twelve people here. But it was still crowded.

The man who had grabbed him seemed to have melded into the crowd of other people who were already in the van, and they all apparently considered that the best way to control the young turtle was to sit almost on top of him.

Come to think of it, they were probably more afraid of Uncle Don than himself. More than likely, they thought that the closer they were to Raphael, the less danger they would be in. Because, you know, they could use him as a shield, or something.

Didn't they realize how stupid they were? Don was going to _hurt _the people holding his brother captive. And that meant that they should stay as far away from him as possible.

At least, he _hoped _Donnie was coming after him.

This was going to be a long ride.

"Ow!" Raph cried out, dazed. His head had just banged against the side of the van.

Why would that happen?

Wait, had the van just stopped?

Had they _crashed _into something?

"Grab the turtle and let's get out of here!" someone cried out.

"Hey! Watch it!" Raphael snapped as someone picked him up and held him under one arm like an American football.

The back doors of the van opened, and Raph had a glimpse of a turtle, his own Uncle Donnie, running down the street after them before his capture turned and began running the other way.

"Unca Donnie!" Raph called out, "Beat these bozos to a _pulp_!"

"Quiet ya twerp," someone told him.

Raph was certain that Don heard him, because he heard Donnie's voice over the ruckus; however, he couldn't make out what that voice said.

"Boss, he's after us!"

"I know, I know! Give me time to think!"

"The Subway, over there!"

"Good idea!"

Before Raphael knew what was happening, they were taking him down some stairs heading for the subway.

"Clear the car!" someone shouted.

A Purple Dragon ran in front of the one holding Raph and took out a gun.

"Everybody out!" he cried, and stepped into the subway car.

Raph didn't exactly see what happened, perhaps because he was still dazed from hitting his head, and maybe because the overcoat of the guy holding him was kind of in his eyes. The next thing he knew, he was being held to the floor of the Subway car, now empty, and the doors were closing.

"Heh heh," said a Purple Dragon somewhere in the car as the doors closed, "That'll teach 'im!"

As soon as the doors closed, Raph dared to look up and see what was happening around the car.

For one thing, they were moving now. The station was already left behind. For another thing, there were about ten Purple Dragons. Some of them were stationed at the doors, and the rest were all standing around him. They had placed him in the middle of the subway car.

"Keep your head down," someone told him, and roughly pushed his head to the floor.

"Ow!" said Raph, "What d'ya want with me, anyway?"

"Wow he _is _a feisty one," said another Purple Dragon, "Listen, creature. They want ya back at headquarters, alive and unharmed. We can do very well if we just give ya to 'em alive, so don't do _anything _unless we give ya the say-so, or else you might get hurt. Understand?"

"N-no," said Raph, confused, "What are ya _talking _about?"

The Purple Dragons all looked at one another.

"He means," said one, "That if you don't behave, we're going to-woah!"

There was the sound of metal wrenching, and someone threw something like a blanket over Raph's head.

"Get down!" someone commanded, and Raph simultaneously felt pressure on his shell, telling him that the command was meant for him.

"Surround the smaller one!" someone called out, "Use it as a shield!"

The metal sounds continued.

"Don't let him get in!"

"Small Joe, look out!"

There was a terrible sound, as if a giant metal something had been ripped apart.

Suddenly someone screamed.

"He's in, he's in!"

"Aim for the head!"

"Look out! He's got a-ooomf!"

"Ow!"

"Ugh…"

"I've got 'im!"

The sounds of a battle filled the air. Raph dared to hope.

"Unca Donnie?" he cried out timidly.

"Shut yer trap!" someone cried out, clamping his head to the floor. Hard.

"Hang on, Raph!" came the sound of Donnie's voice.

Raph remained quiet, listening to the sounds of the fight. He was feeling a little dizzy, maybe because his head was just punched to the floor, and maybe because the subway was still moving back and forth, back and forth.

The fight seemed to last forever.

Suddenly, the pressure on his shell was gone, and silence filled the air.

"Raph, are you alright?" Donnie asked, and the blanket was lifted from Raph's face. Well, apparently it was not an actual blanket. It was someone's jacket.

"Donnie!" Raph cried out, hugging his brother by the neck, "You're alright! I'm so sorry! I'll never leave the lair like that again!"

"It's alright Raph," said Don, sounding relieved, "Now we've got to hurry and get out of here, before these guys wake u-"

"Get them!" said a voice, albeit weakly.

"-up," finished Donnie, lifting Raph into his arms.

Raphael followed Donnie's eyes to see that several of the Purple Dragons were getting up and already advancing towards them.

Donnie looked around. The Subway had left the tunnels and was now traveling on an elevated track.

"Raphael," said Donnie, looking towards the car door, which looked as if it had been torn off its hinges or something, "Hang on and trust me, okay?"

Raph didn't like the sound of this.

"Here we go!" Don called out, and he ran out the open door, jumping at the last second.

While he was freefalling with his brother, Raph briefly looked down. He then closed his eyes, and all he could hear was the funny whistle that the Subway made as it burst past them.

He didn't want to see when they landed, because he knew that the only thing below them was solid concrete.

For some reason, the only thing that Donatello could think of when he jumped was that if they survived this night, Master Splinter would _never_ let him babysit again.


	11. French Toast

_Thank you readers so much for __reviewing, faving and following! Here is another chapter. :)_

* * *

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The fall was a long one, maybe five stories. Don landed in a roll, protecting Raph with his body. They rolled five times before coming to a stop.

"Raph, are you alright?" Don asked, looking at Raph before taking note of his surroundings.

"Yeah, I guess," said Raph, "Did they follow us?"

"I don't think so," said Don, looking up to see the last of the train disappearing down the elevated track.

"Where are we?" asked Raph.

"Donnie? _Raph_?" asked a voice.

Startled, Don and Raph looked towards the direction of the voice.

"Mikey?" asked Don, confused, "What are _you _doing here?"

"Finding stuff for your lab," said Mikey, also looking confused, "You do know that you landed in the junkyard, right? What were you even _doing _on the _Subway_? And why did you jump out of it?"

Don and Raph, still sitting on the ground, looked up from where they had landed and finally registered that they were indeed at the junkyard.

"Oh no," said Don, placing the palm of his hand on his forehead, "This is bad."

"Why?" asked Mikey, "What's bad?"

Before Don could answer, a giant shadow loomed before him.

Raph and Don both gulped.

"Um, hi Master Splinter," Don said, forcing a smile.

Great. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, as the saying goes.

"Explanation. _Now_." said Splinter firmly.

Needless to say, they were both in a _lot _of trouble.

* * *

"Ugh," groaned Mikey, trying to sound as forlorn as possible.

He was sitting on the ground with his legs outspread. Young Raphael, looking equally gloomy, was sitting in between his legs while leaning against his chest, and trying desperately to ignore everything he was saying.

"I know they were the ones who left the lair, but why do _I _get to be punished?"

"You are not being punished, my son," said Splinter, not noticing the strange look Raph was giving him for calling Mikey his son, "It is merely that with Donatello here to aid us in our search, it is far more prudent for you to watch over Raphael then to search for the equipment."

"In other words, you trust me more than Don to babysit," Mikey groaned, leaning back against some structure in the junkyard that used to be something the size of a fridge, "Seriously, why does _he _get to be punished by doing what he loves?"

Splinter smiled.

"I will resume the search as well," Splinter continued, holding onto the piece of paper with the pictures of every possible part that they were looking for, "Wait here until Leonardo returns, Michelangelo. Donatello will be working too hard "

"Gotcha," said Mikey.

"And if either of you moves so much as _two feet _from _this spot_…" Splinter decided to leave his threat unfinished, and with a mischevious smile he walked deep into the junkyard.

The look of horror in the eyes of both Mickey and Raph at the unfinished threat told Splinter that they weren't going anywhere.

However, after ten minutes of doing nothing but stare at the stars and what creepy silhouettes could be seen of the junk in the junkyard, Raph was rapidly growing board.

"Mikey, Mikey, quite contrikey," he started to sing in a dull voice.

"First of all," said Mikey, sounding equally bored, "It's 'Mary, Mary, quite contrary'. And second of all-"

"_What on _earth_ is Raph doing here?"_ demanded Leo, coming up on them suddenly, "I thought we left him at home with Don!"

"We did," said Mikey, turning to face his brother and not at all fazed by Leonardo's unannounced arrival, "But he fell out of the sky and Splinter said that I had to watch him."

"What?" asked Leo, confused. He knelt down to face Mikey and Raph at eye level, then began to address the younger of the two.

"Raphael," Leo said sternly, looking Raph dead in the eyes, "How did you follow us here?"

"I took the Subway," said Raph, crossing his arms and looking away from Leo.

"Ha ha, very funny," said Leo sarcastically, "Seriously, you shouldn't have left the lair. You could get kidnapped by the boogey man, or a Purple Dragon. Does Don know you're here?"

"Oh, Don's here too," said Mikey, "They _both _fell out of the sky."

"Huh?" asked Leo.

"We fell from the Subway," corrected Raph, "And those things smell _really_ nasty."

"What?" asked Leo.

"Yeah," said Raph, "But Unca Don protected me from the fall, so don't worry."

"Why were you guys doing on the _Subway_?" asked Leo, "Weren't we trying to avoid the whole 'people' thing?"

"Um," said Raph, "It's a long story, and, um…"

"Dude, you don't want to know," Mikey sighed, "It will only make you _really_ angry. Please, just help Don and Sensei find those parts so we can go home?"

Leo sighed and stood back up again.

"Alright," he said, "But I might just send you two back on your own. A certain _someone _needs to get to bed."

"But I'm used to staying up late," Mikey argued innocently.

"He's talking about _me_," Raph rolled his eyes, "And I can stay up late, too, Unca Leo!"

"Wait Leo, going back to the lair alone not such a good idea," Mikey said as an afterthought, "We should all go back together. You know, because the Purple Dragons are so close to the lair and all."

There was a very short silence before Leo responded. When he did, his voice was suspiciously calm.

"What."

"You don't want to know," Mikey responded.

Leo groaned.

"Fine," he said, "I don't think I _do _want to know. We'll all go back together. Alright? Now Raph, try to get some sleep. We're going to be here a while."

Raph sighed, then leaned further against Mikey. Maybe he could at least _try _to get some shuteye.

* * *

When Raphael awoke, he was lying in his own hammock in his own bedroom. He vaguely remembered someone laying him there when he was half asleep the night before. Beyond that, he remembered falling asleep in the junkyard.

What had he been doing in the junkyard?

He placed a hand over his forehead to try and heal his headache.

That was when he saw his hand.

"What the-" he cried out, and fell off the hammock, landing neatly in a pile of pillows and blankets that someone had placed there in case he fell out during the night.

Frowning, he sat down and stared at first one hand, and then the other. He then stood up and stared at his hammock. Biting back something that looked like tears, Raphael clenched his teeth and his hands. Now he remembered what he had been doing in the junkyard. And the day before that. And-and he was suddenly very hungry.

With a small groan he left the room and headed downstairs for the kitchen. Huh. He was the first one up today, imagine that. The stove was daunting, and also the fridge, but he was determined to have cereal today. Dragging a chair to the cupboards, he stepped onto it and used his makeshift stool to reach his favorite cereal. He then used the chair to get the bowl, and then abandoned the useful piece of furniture to get the milk and the spoon. He laid them all on the table and began to set up his breakfast.

"Good morning Raph," yawned Mikey as he stepped into the kitchen, "Makin' cereal?"

"Yeah," said Raph, "What are you making?"

"I dunno," said Mikey sleepily, taking some eggs out of the fridge, "If you want I can make you pancakes or eggs or something."

"Thanks but no thanks," said Raph, "I'm good with cereal today."

"'kay," said Mikey, closing the fridge, "What do you think the others would want today?"

"I don't know," said Raph, starting to get annoyed, "Listen, Mikey,"

"What is it?" asked Mikey.

Raph opened his mouth, but then closed it again.

"Nothin'," he said, "It was nothin'."

"'kay," said Mikey.

The kitchen was almost silent, except for the noises that Chief Mikey was making.

"French toast," said Raphael, staring at the cereal in his bowl.

"Huh?" asked Mikey.

"I think they'd like French Toast this mornin'." Raph explained.

Mikey brightened up and smiled. "Good idea Raph," he said, and immediately went to work on creating breakfast.

"Hmm, something smells good," said Leonardo as he entered the kitchen, "Can I have some, Mikey?"

"Sure thing Leo," said Mikey, "It's French Toast. Raph suggested it."

"Good morning, Raph," said Leo, "Sorry I didn't see you there. I'm a little distracted this morning."

"S'up," Raph replied, "Didja get everything Donnie needed from the junkyard?"

"Yes, and then some," said Leo, yawning as he sat down at the table, "The hard part was carrying it all back without alerting the Purple Dragons, who apparently have been staking out the sewers all night. But it's all over now. Donnie can take it from here."

"So Raph," said Mikey, "Do you want some French Toast? I know you're eating cereal, but I thought I'd ask."

"Nah," said Raph, "I'm good. But thanks for askin'. Say Leo, what _is_ Donnie up to anyway?"

"Oh, just a little project," said Leo, smiling at Raph with an I-know-something-that-I-can't-tell-you look, "Hopefully it will be done soon."

"Do ya think someone should tear him out of the lab for breakfast?" Raph asked.

"I'll do it," said Mikey, "Leo, watch the stove will you?"

"Sure thing Mikey," said Leonardo, "Shouldn't you take Raph with you? I mean, I don't think Master Splinter would like it if-"

"He's fine, Leo," said Mikey, "He's eating. You can handle him for two minutes while he's eating, right?"

Leo shivered. "I'm not sure I can," he muttered to himself.

Raphael was staring at him as if he was about to burst into laughter.

"Are ya really that scared of me?" he asked, his voice shaking just slightly from the laughter threatening to spill out, "I promise I won't rearrange the cabinets or booby trap the house fer ya, Leonardo."

Raphael then dug his spoon into his cereal, and began eating.

Leo shook his head, but didn't respond. When Mikey returned half a minute later dragging an irate and tired-looking Donatello behind him, Leo and Raph were in the same positions, but in Raph's case there was less cereal in his bowl, and in the stove's case the toast was starting to burn.

"Good morning, guys," Donnie mumbled as Mikey shoved him into a seat.

"I made this for you earlier," said Mikey, placing something on the table before his brother.

"Sweet nector! Bless you, Mikey!" Donnie cried, and he picked up the object, which was a coffee mug, and began to tenderly drink its contents.

"Thanks Donnie," Mikey chuckled, then turned to the stove and began to act as if he was gagging on smoke, "Geez, Leo! Would it kill ya to actually _interact_ with the stove? When I said to watch this thing I didn't mean for you to literally _watch _it!"

"Sorry Mikey," said Leo, "I kinda forgot."

"Yeah, I guess we all had a rough night," said Mikey, "Ready for some more coffee, Donnie?"

"I've been waiting, as a matter of fact," said Donatello, patiently holding up his coffee mug towards Mikey.

"Huh," said Raph, crossing his arms. The corner of his mouth was upturned, threatening a smile.

"What?" asked Donnie, looking in his direction.

"Nothin'," said Raph, smiling broadly. And a little too innocently.

Donnie shook his head and accepted the coffee Mikey was pouring, ignoring his suspicious brother.

"You know," said Mikey, "You _could _have gotten up to get it yourself."

Donnie was too busy drinking his coffee to answer.

"So," Leo began, "What is the plan for today?"

"The plan, Leonardo," Master Splinter said, entering the kitchen, "Is simple. You and I will continue with your training, while Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael will be excused from training for the day."

"Really? Awesome!" Mikey said, pumping his fists.

"You do realize that you have to watch Raph all day, right?" asked Donnie.

"Hey!" Mikey said, "Why do _I _have to watch Raph?"

"Because _I _will be too busy working on my project." Donnie answered, "Why else do you think I'm excused from training, Mikey?"

"What kind o' project?" Raph asked.

"Something for you in fact," said Donnie, "But it will be finished faster if you stay out of my lab, alright?"

"Whatever," Raph said.

"Raphael," Splinter reprimanded, "That was very rude, my son."

"Sorry Sensei," Raph said, stirring his cereal, "And don't worry Donnie, I ain't going inta yer lab today."

"Mikey, what is that smell?" asked Leo.

"Ah!" said Mikey, using a pot holder to throw the pan in the sink, regardless of what was still inside it. "Shell, I burned it!"

Splinter and Leo both laughed as Mikey rinsed the pan with cold water.

"You burned your own cooking? That's a first," Donnie said.

"Sorry," said Mikey, "I was thinking about the first time we ever had French Toast."

"Why are ya thinking about _that_?" Raph asked.

"Mikey, you never cease to amaze me!" Leo said, shaking his head with a large grin on his face.

"Is everything all right, Michelangelo?" Splinter asked, still smiling.

"Yes Sensei," said Mikey, "You can have some of _my _French Toast, I didn't eat it yet. I'll just have cereal."

Splinter was about to refuse the offer, but no one can refuse Mikey anything.

It wasn't long after that when Donnie excused himself to go work in his lab. Not long after that, Leonardo and Splinter left to go practice. Splinter had given Raph a good-bye hug, which he tolerated, and Leo even proceeded to rustle Raph's non-existent hair, at which Raph made a face.

That left Mikey and Raph in the kitchen.

And of course, that meant that trouble was about to ensue.

But this kind of trouble was drastically different. And Raph certainly wasn't expecting it.

"Raph," Mikey said, sitting down at the table, watching his brother stare at an empty cereal bowl, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"About what?" Raph asked, looking surprised.

"Don't give me that," said Mikey, "Do you remember when we first had French Toast?"

"Yeah," said Raph, looking confused, "So what?"

Mikey smiled.

"First, I'm going to tell you something that you probably won't like," Mikey began, "And then I'll tell you something that I _know_ you _will _like."

"Ya know you're not making any sense, right?" Raph asked.

Mikey chuckled.

"Guess what," he said, "French Toast? The first time we ever had it, April made it for us."

"Yeah, I remember."

"You do?" Mikey said, grinning.

"Yeah. So?"


	12. Large Sais in Small Hands

_Hello there! Sorry for the delay, this author went with a group to the March for Life in D.C. and neglected to bring a laptop. Although I might not have gotten much done on it anyway, I was pretty busy! In fact I only just got back this morning. And yes, I know this chapter is insanely short, but I wanted to give you guys something and this is what I have so far. Enjoy!_

* * *

CHAPTER TWELVE

Raph had made many mistakes throughout his life. But this was the first time that he ever made such a face after realizing his mistake. It was a terrible mix of horror, realization and cuteness. It was especially terrible because it was the kind of face that no child should ever make.

"Shell," he said.

"Uh uh," said Mikey, wagging a finger, "Language, Raphael. Splinter will be so ashamed."

"Knock it off, Mikey," said Raph, grabbing the finger, "I can say what I want."

"Dude, you're like, seven years old," Mikey said.

"Seven?" asked Raph, sounding surprised, "Are ya sure I'm not eight? 'Cause I feel eight."

"I'm pretty sure Donnie said you're seven," said Mikey.

"How would _he _know?"

"Because you've had a scar on your elbow since your eighth birthday party."

Raph automatically looked at his elbow without relinquishing his hold on Mikey.

"What scar?" he asked in confusion.

"Exactly," smiled Mikey, "So when did you get your memories back?"

"Just this mornin'," Raph said, letting go of Mikey's finger and staring intently at the table, "I didn't want ta tell 'em, because…because…"

He fell silent.

"It was just too _embarrassing!_" he confessed.

"It's okay Raph, you don't have to tell me anything about it," Mikey said.

"It's just that, well," began Raph, "Aside from being embarrasin' and all, I think it really made Sensei's day havin' a kid around the house, and I didn't want ta tell anyone I remembered just yet, because I didn't want ta let him down, ya know?"

"I guess," said Mikey, "Maybe your right, and we shouldn't tell them just yet."

"Yeah," said Raph, staring into his empty bowl again.

"Listen bro," said Mikey, "Now that I've told you something you didn't like, I'm going to tell you something that I _know _you'll like."

"And what's that?"

"Well, now that you've got your memory back, we're going to infiltrate the Purple Dragons!"

"Really? Who decided that?"

"I did," said Mikey proudly, "Just now. You got all your skills back, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm a little short Mikey, and-"

"No matter," interrupted Mikey, "We're just going on a scouting mission. To see if they've made the antidote they were planning to make, back when I found you."

"That's right," said Raph, perking up, "I forgot all about that! And come ta think of it, I think I can lead us right ta their main lab!"

"How would you know that?"

"They took me there a lot," Raph said, "Back when I was a prisoner. I thought it was a game to get blood drawn. Ya know, this is all just embarrassing, Mikey! I was so _stupid._"

"Forget it, you were a kid," said Mikey, waving his hand as if he were putting it all behind him, "But because you _still _look like a kid that Leo and Sensei probably won't let you go with me if we told them our plan. So let's grab something for lunch and get out of here before Leo finds out we're leaving."

"Good idea," said Raph, "Maybe we'd better leave a note though, so they don't think I've been kidnapped again."

"Alright," said Mikey, "Sounds fair enough! I'll write the letter, you get the lunch."

"Right," said Raph. He moved to the cupboards. "Say Mikey, won't you get into trouble fer leavin' the lair with me?"

"Leo and Don got in trouble for disobeying Master Splinter," said Mikey, smiling mischievously, "But Master Splinter never said anything about _us _not leaving the lair!"

Raph smiled an equally mischievous smile, and within ten minutes, the two of them were walking silently through the sewers.

* * *

"Mikey, Raph!" Leo called out, "You guys are being too quiet, and it's making Splinter nervous. Make some noise, will you?"

There was no answer.

"Guys, what are you up to?" Leo asked, heading for the kitchen, "Are you still in the kitchen?"

He entered the room, but no one was there.

"Maybe you're both in Mikey's room," Leo said outloud.

But he stopped, spying a piece of paper plainly sitting on the table.

Taking a few steps further into the kitchen, Leo picked up the paper and read it.

His eyes grew wide.

"M-Master Splinter!" He called out, and ran back to the dojo as fast as he could, "We've got problems!"

"What sort of problems, my son?" asked Splinter, "Did Michelangelo and Raphael paint your katanas again?"

"Again?" Leo asked, confused, "Um, thankfully no," he said, "But read this."

"Read what?" Donnie asked, entering the room, "Is it another ransom note for your mattress, Leo?"

"What do you mean by 'another'?" Leo asked, getting worried.

"Oh, nothing," said Donnie innocently, "What's it say?"

"Read it, my son," said Splinter, looking worried as he handed the note to Donatello, "It is from Michelangelo."

_Dear Guys_, it read, in Michelangelo's handwriting, _Don't worry about me and Raph. We're not captured or anything, but we've left the lair on a secret mission. We'll be back by dark. If not, that means we're in trouble. But we're not in trouble yet, so don't worry about us! Oh, and we brought our weapons just in case. Signed, Mikey._

"He _wrote _the word 'signed'?" Donnie asked.

"Really, Don?" Leo said, raising an eyebrow, "_That _is the first thing you think of after reading it? Our two youngest, most irresponsible brothers have just decided to leave the lair on a 'secret mission'! Do you even _know _what that means?!"

"So what do we do, Master Splinter?" Don asked.

"There is not much we can do, my sons," said Splinter, "They have left in broad daylight. Donatello, you must resume your work in the lab. Leonardo, you may have permission to track them down. By the time you find them, I will have thought of a suitable punishment for such a rash action."

Leo and Donnie gulped, and silently looked at one another.

"Sensei, please go easy on Mikey," said Donnie, breaking the silence, "After all, he's the only one here aside from yourself who can actually babysit."

"Yes Sensei," said Leo, "I don't think either of us can handle Raph again!"

* * *

"Alright, here we go," said Mikey, leaning against the structure in the middle of the roof, "You're _sure _you've got it?"

"What do I look like to you, a kid?" asked Raph, taking the sais out of the target and turning to growl at his brother, "Don't answer that. I've been handling these babies for years, Mikey."

"I know," said Mikey, "But your sais seem just a little bigger on you now."

Raph groaned. "Of course they are," he said, "But I'll get used to them in a sec."

"We don't _have _a sec," Mikey pointed out, "Leo is going to figure out we're gone any minute now. And you _know_ how great a tracker he is."

"I know, I know," said Raph, "But if I don't get this right, I won't be able to fight."

Raph tried throwing the sais once more at the target, and once more he made it nearly dead-center.

"Dang it," he said, "Mikey, I'm gonna need ten more minutes."

"Fine," said Mikey, "You do that. I'm going to start thinking of how to infiltrate the building."

"Oh no, don't even go there!" Raph said, turning to Mikey with a shocked look of horror on his face.

"What?"

"Don't you even _think _of suggesting that I piggy-back on you all the way in, like we came out! Remember that? Geez, Mikey, if I had only known…!"

"Listen, Raph, you didn't even know who I was! How does that make it embarrassing?"

"But now I _do _know who ya are! And I draw the line at piggy-back rides. I used to be the one to give _you _those, remember? You and Donnie! Now I'm younger than the both of ya! And you an' Donnie used ta be younger than me! It's like I'm suddenly your little big brother, and I don't like it at all!"

"Raph, calm down," said Mikey, standing up straight instead of leaning against the building and unfolding his crossed arms, "We can't pull that stunt twice anyway, they'll be expecting it. We have to find another way in."

Raph took a deep breath, and then stared at the target he had been aiming at. It was the middle of some poster on a roof. Suddenly, he began smiling mischievously.

"In that case, I have an idea," Raph smirked.


	13. The Foot

_Another chapter! Finally!_

* * *

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Leo had been following their trail for only about half an hour, but he already knew that Mikey and Raph were planning something big. They had stopped on the roof of the building where Mikey likes to think, and then had traveled back to the sewers.

Could they be heading back home? It seemed unlikely. Maybe they were just going to get something. But they wouldn't get something from the same home they had just left when they knew that he, Leonardo, was looking for them. So where could they be heading, that the best way to get there was through the sewers?

Leo scrunched his face. Their tracks were being covered by the fact that they must have been wading in the sewer water. Which way would they have gone?

The warehouse. The one where they kept all of their equipment. They must be heading there. But why would they use the sewers? It meant they had to go back home…unless they got out of the sewers at the manhole closest to the warehouse, and entered the building at street level.

Leo quickly traversed the length of the sewers, hoping he was right. Sure enough, when he came to the manhole closest to the warehouse, the ladder rungs were slightly soggy and still dripping from wet feet.

They had just come this way.

Leo grinned, and went up the ladder. The hunt was on.

He silently opened the manhole, not wanting his brothers to know that he was so close to them. Sneaking into the warehouse, Leo turned on the light, hoping to hear the loud gasps of astonishment that his brothers would give him.

But he was the one who gasped, because they weren't there.

They had already gone. Great. So what was missing?

Quickly surveying the warehouse, he noticed that Raph's shellcycle was still there, and so was Don's sewer slider. But Mikey's emergency skateboard was gone. Nothing other than that was missing.

Why did they come here just to take Mikey's skateboard?

Leo turned around, intent on going outside to track what could be found of their trail. His hand strayed to the lightswitch, and he gave one last look at the warehouse, before he noticed.

One of the books on the bookshelf was jutting out. And right behind that bookshelf was where Don kept all their keys, hidden from anyone who might sneak into the warehouse but accessible to the turtles in an emergency.

Quickly Leo leaped over to the bookshelf and took the book out to see the keyrack behind it. One single set of keys was missing.

Leo looked at the vehicles in the room. Raph's shellcycle was still there. The Sewer Slider was still there. Even the Battleshell was still there.

So what did the missing keys go to?

Leo pulled out his shellcell.

"Hey Don," he said, "I have a lead, but I need your help."

"Not now Leo," said Don, the sound of typing keys in the background, "I have an emergency. Someone is in the junkyard overriding the controls on my airplane-submarine invention. Leo, it's like they have the keys!"

"That's great!" said Leo enthusiastically, "Those must be the set of keys missing from the warehouse. Thanks a lot, Don!"

He hung up the shellcell and was already out the door when he thought to call his flabbergasted brother back.

"I'm tracking Mikey and Raph," he explained, "I'm pretty sure they're the ones who took the keys. Don't worry about it."

"_What_?" asked Don, sounding very worried, "Leo, this is _Mikey and Raph_ we're talking about. And they just got the thing airborne."

"Where are they heading?" Leo asked.

"Downtown," Don responded, "Leo, Mikey failed his pilot test, remember? Seven year old Raph can probably fly better than him!"

"We don't have time to freak out about this, Don," said Leo, "If you want to help you can meet me downtown."

* * *

"Why can't I fly?" the voice whined.

"Will you stop already? We have to get there before Leo tracks us."

"But why won't you let me fly?"

"You want us to get there without crashing into anything, don't you?"

"Well yeah, but-"

"No 'buts', Mikey! Quit acting like a little kid and _let me fly the plane_!"

Raph was keeping all his attention on not crashing into any of the nearby buildings, but he still managed to send Mikey a mean looking glare.

"Don probably knows we've taken the plane," Raph explained, "Leo should be following us, and we need to get there before they catch up to us or this entire plan is going down the drain."

"Fine," harrumphed Mikey, crossing his arms, "But no one ever lets me fly!"

"We're almost there," said Raph, pulling up to the building they were planning on sneaking into. It was the same one where the Purple Dragons had originally held him captive. Bordering on the edge of the water, probably so that any submarines could easily be hidden under the building, it looked entirely innocent. _Too_ innocent.

"Get ready, Mikey!"

Placing the plane on hover mode and then autopilot, Raph signaled to Mikey, who carefully aimed Don's weapon and shot it at the building.

The response was instantaneous, as that part of the building completely crumbled.

"Great going Mikey," said Raph sarcastically, "We want the antidote intact, by the way."

The building sent up a flare of rockets, all aimed towards the airplane.

"Now what do we do?" Mikey asked.

"We wait to get shot down, idiot," said Raph, his finger hovering over one of the buttons on the dashboard.

* * *

Leo looked up as he raced across the rooftops to see what was going on. Apparently the Purple Dragon building that Raph had been held in was under attack, and the Purple Dragon's were fighting back with rockets.

All aimed directly at Donnie's airplane.

"Mikey, Raph!" Leo called out, breaking his silence.

He quickly burst forward, keeping one eye on his next foothold and the other eye on the airplane in the sky.

Through the smoke and haze caused by the rockets, he saw Donnie's airplane shiver and crumple in the sky, before beginning to fall.

"No!" Leo cried, bursting forward.

Donnie's airplane containing two of his brothers fell, and after what seemed like forever crashed into the ocean beside the building. The splash was horrific.

"No…" Leo faltered, halting his steps.

Maybe he could still get to them in time…

He raced to the next rooftop. From this position he could clearly see that…

That the airplane was sinking.

And the enemies in the building had stopped shooting at it. They didn't want to waste their ammunition.

"No," Leo whispered, forcing his legs to move.

His shellcell rang, and he snapped it open as he rang.

"What do you want?" he called out angrily.

"They're on the move again," Donnie said calmly, "They're in the water."

"Don't you think I know that?" Leo asked, "I saw them crash! Don, I gotta go, maybe I can still save them!"

"Leo, wait!" Don said, sounding frantic, "They're fine! It's a submarine too, remember?"

Leo stopped.

"What?" he asked.

"It's the same one I was flying when Raph fell," Donnie said, "They're fine. They're on the move, even. Heading underneath the building."

Leo sat down heavily on the roof of whatever building he was on.

"So they were only pretending to get shot down," he said, sighing heavily, "They're fine, they're fine…"

His head burst up again.

"…And they're infiltrating the enemy stronghold," Leo said, "Those two will be in so much trouble when I find them!"

Shutting the shellcell, Leo began running towards the building once more. He was going to infiltrate the building, too. And if his brothers weren't dead by the time he came to save them, they _might _just wish they were.

* * *

"That was easy," Mikey said, sneaking along the dark corridor.

"Yeah, almost too easy," Raph said, "Something doesn't seem right about all this."

"You got that right, freak," said a voice.

The light switched on, and Mikey and Raph found themselves facing Hun and an army of Foot ninjas.

"What's with the Foot?" Mikey asked.

"My Dragons are busy, and the Foot will do anything for money," Hun said, cracking his teeth, "You see, you stole the young turtle from us, and we want him back."

Mikey stepped calmly in front of his now-younger brother.

"Keep quiet about your you-know-what," Mikey whispered.

He didn't want anyone knowing that his brother had regained his memory, because they would only mistreat him. If they thought he had the mentality of a kid, they would probably decide against beating him up.

Raph grunted, and began twirling his sais.

"I'm not sayin' anything," he whispered back, "But I'm also not backing down from a fight."

Mikey pulled out his nunchucks and placed himself in a defensive stance.

How had this all gone so wrong so fast? The plan had been foolproof. They had even managed to keep Leo from catching up to them before they could implement it.

Heh. He said "implement". Don would be pleased.

But anyway, how could this have happened? They _really _needed Leo right now.

"Come along," said Hun, addressing Raph, "If you come quietly, we won't hurt the other turtle. We're not going to hurt you, Raphael. We're your friends, remember?"

"I don't know you, mister," Raph said, trying to make his voice sound like a kid while he aimed his weapons in their direction to show that he meant to defend himself, "And I don't know these ninjas neither. I'm not leavin' Unca Mikey."

Mikey grinned, knowing how his brother must be groaning internally at having said that willingly. He decided that if they got out of here alive, he wasn't going to tease him about that.

He then hardened his face and began twirling his nunchucks, watching carefully to see when the Foot clan would advance towards them. He was already preparing the moves he would use on them.

No one was getting his brother without a fight.


	14. The Run from Hun

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"Alright guys," said Mikey, smirking as he brandished his weapons, "Who's first?"

There was a rush of Foot, and suddenly Mikey found himself in the center of battle.

"Mikey!" Raph shouted, finding himself outside the circle and in relative safety.

"Get out of here, Raph!" Mikey replied, kicking a ninja off his feet, "Ha! I just kicked a Foot off his feet with my foot. Nice!"

"I'm not leaving you, Mikey!" Raph called out, preparing to run inside the fray.

Two of the Foot soldiers attempted to get past Mikey and reach Raph, but Mikey instantly knocked them down.

"I said leave!" Mikey yelled, "I got this!"

"Maybe you have the Foot ninjas occupied," Hun said, leaning comfortably against the wall while watching the battle, "But since you are distracted, I think _I _will take the little turtle now."

Raph gulped as Hun began to stalk over to him, looking like a mountain on steroids. And he had looked like that _before _Raph had shrunk to his present size.

"Raph, run!" Mikey cried, too busy dancing with the Foot to break away from them and save his brother.

Raph slipped his sais into his belt and high-tailed it down the corridor, the sound of Hun coming after him. At a fork in the hallway he turned to the left, and he continued running and turning until he was certain that he didn't know where he was going. That was around the time when he ran into a dead end.

Unfortunately, he could still hear Hun behind him.

Looking up, he spotted some heavy pipes on the ceiling.

"Perfect," he whispered to himself. He could easily hide from Hun up there, and use the pipes to climb back to Mikey, who was probably almost done beating up the Foot.

Raphael gathered himself up for the jump, and with a powerful burst of strength he jumped…and completely missed. His was too short. Shell!

And at that moment, Hun rounded the corner.

Great. Just great. He was trapped; there was nowhere to run. Huge arms were placed on the walls at both sides of him, cornering him into a small box.

"Oh yes," said Hun, looking down at Raphael, "You _should_ be scared. You're coming with me."

Hun reached over to grab him, but Raph moved out of the way, at least, as much as he could.

"Not if I can help it!" Raph called, dodging another arm.

"Will you just _stand still _already?" Hun asked, reaching once more.

But someone grabbed the hand Hun held out, twisted it, and landed him flat on his back.

Someone with a green arm.

"Leo!" Raph shouted, glad to see his brother but completely embarrassed that he had to be rescued.

"Do you think you can just _take _a seven year old in _my care_?" Leo asked Hun, conveniently forgetting that Splinter had forbidden him from ever taking care of Raphael again.

But Hun was not one to go down easily.

"I think you're mistaken, freak," he said, breaking out of Leo's hold.

Leo leaped just out of the way when Hun swung a punch at him.

"If I'm not mistaken," Hun said, "_You _were the ones who took him from _our _care!"

"After you kidnapped him!" Leo retorted, dodging another blow.

Raph was bored. He was not about to sit still while his brother was fighting; well, he run away when Mikey was being attacked, but that was only because he had no other choice. Right now, however, Hun was a sitting duck, and Leo was having all the fun.

Unsheathing one of his sais, Raph carefully gauged the distance and threw it. It landed blunt end down-as intended-on the back of Hun's head. Hun fell down unconscious, while Leo looked on astounded.

Raph laughed as he went to retrieve his weapon.

"Raphael!" Leonardo said, placing both hands on his hips, "You are in so much trouble right now!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Raph said, rolling his eyes, "So what else is new?"

"Listen to me, Raphael," Leo said, bending down on one knee, "You scared me. I thought you and Mikey-wait. Where is Michelangelo?"

"He _was _fighting the Foot," Raph said, pointing down the hallway.

Leo groaned. "Fine," he said, leading the way down the corridor, "But as soon as we get Mikey, we're going home and Splinter is going to punish _both _of you for running away and infiltrating an enemy lair. I wouldn't be surprised if he even sends you to bed without a bedtime story."

Raph stopped, astounded. What kind of punishment was _that_? He hadn't had that punishment since he was little. And it certainly wasn't very severe.

Wait a second. Leo still thought that…wow, Leo didn't realize he had regained his memory. That was probably why he hadn't pounded him into the floor by now for sneaking out of the lair.

Oh man was this embarrassing.

"Um, Leo," Raph began, intending to tell his brother here and now to get it over with.

"Quiet Raph," Leo said, stopping in midstride.

Raph was instantly quiet. Leo had heard something. And that wasn't good.

With a snarl Leo twisted to the right and pulled out his swords in one fluid movement. A Foot ninja jumped out of the shadows and met his swords with metal, while a second Foot ninja jumped out of some more shadows and attacked his brother from the side. Thankfully, Leo noticed him just in time and attacked him while continuing to fight the first ninja.

Raph briefly wondered why they weren't targeting him, but when his brother was suddenly shoved in his direction he remembered his height problem. That reminded him that the ninjas all thought he was a harmless turtle child.

Maybe since they were all ignoring him he could knock these guys out with his sais, like he did with Hun. His hands reached to his belt, but never got there.

Great. They were not _all _ignoring him. A third ninja had snuck up behind him. Sensei was going to have a cow when he heard about _this_. The ninja had grabbed Raph's arms using one arm, and used his other hand to cover Raph's mouth.

Raph's eyes narrowed, and his kicked the ninja in the shins. The ninja kept his hold, but couldn't help giving a small grunt of surprise.

That was all Leo needed to hear him, however.

"Raphael!" Leo called out, noticing that his brother was held captive. He made quick work of the two ninjas he was battling, and then turned to help his brother.

"Let him go," Leo said, advancing threateningly on the third ninja.

The ninja took a step back and smiled. Raph, however, suddenly gave a warning look with his eyes.

Leo stopped. Was Raph warning him? About what? He twirled around, but it was too late. Hun's fist landed heavily on his head, and he crumpled to the ground.

The ninja holding Raph let go of his mouth, but kept a strong hold on him.

"Leo!" Raph called out, "Hun ya big mountain! What didja have to do _that _for?"

"You know why I did it," Hun said, smiling, "Now since you didn't come willingly, we're going to have to take away your crayons."

Raph decided to keep his mouth shut at that point.

"What happened to the orange one?" Hun asked the ninja holding Raph, rubbing at the sore spot on the back of his neck where Raph's sai had made contact with skin.

"He got away," the ninja said, trembling slightly in fear of how Hun would respond.

Luckily for him, Hun simply shrugged.

"One adult freak is enough," he said, "Have someone take him to the holding cell. Bring the kid back to his room, and instruct Zelda to withhold his bedtime story."

Raph groaned as he was carried down the corridor. Right now he certainly wasn't going to reveal that he had regained his memory, but he _hated _being treated like a kid.

Hopefully Leo would rescue him once he regained consciousness.

Or maybe Mikey would come to the rescue…

Wait, Mikey? No way. That would be a nightmare.

Raph shivered at the very thought as he was thrown into the prison that he had previously been held in. The place Hun called his bedroom.

Raphael looked at the children's toys, the children's bed and all the friendly drawings taped to the wall. He shivered again, this time out of pure terror at the friendliness and cuteness surrounding him.

He couldn't wait for Leo to come get him outta here.

* * *

Michelangelo tapped his foot impatiently. Raph should have been out by now! It wasn't like he was a little kid. Okay, so he was, but he had his grown-up mind, and should be able to get out of there easily. Unless…did he get himself into trouble?

Mikey looked back at the building he had escaped from, and contemplated going back in. But the ringing of his shellcell solidified his decision to stay-at least for a few more minutes.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Mikey, where's Leo?" Donnie asked, sounding stressed.

"I don't know, back at the lair I guess," Mikey said.

"He followed you into the building," Don said.

"Whoa, really? Didn't see him," Mikey said, "But he's probably with Raph, he hasn't made it out yet."

"What!" Don practically screamed, "You left Raph alone in a building full of Purple Dragons!"

"And Foot ninjas," Mikey pointed out, "And hey, it wasn't like we had a choice. We had to separate. So he's probably with Leo, right?"

"Yes Mikey," said Don, sounding mad, "He's probably with Leo right about now."

"Good," said Mikey, smiling weakly. He was off the hook.

"That _would _be good," said Don very, very slowly, "If Leo's shellcell didn't stop transmitting about two minutes ago. Which only happens when it has been crushed beyond smithereens. Which can only mean that he's been captured. Which means that _you_, little brother,have a _lot_ of explaining to do."

Mikey gulped. This was not good at all.


	15. Breaking Chains

_Thank you guys so much! Your reviews/favs/follows really make this author's day, and your reviews are especially fun and always a treat! :) Enjoy!_

* * *

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Raphael paced the room, his overly-large sais lying forgotten in his belt. He should have been thankful that the Foot and the Purple Dragons had forgotten to take them away, but he wasn't. He was going crazy; he couldn't take it any longer. The room he was in had been designed for a child, and frankly, the very child-friendly atmosphere in it was going to give him nightmares.

He had to get out. He had to escape.

He was _gonna _escape, real soon.

As soon as the Purple Dragon lady in charge of him came in, that is. But he wasn't just going to escape, because that would mean that the lady would chase after him and alert the whole base. And in his present size, he would be easily caught unless he learned how to jump up to the ceiling again. No, he was going to do even better than escape: he was going to convince her to _let_ him escape.

This was going to require all the cunning and stealth he could master. It would also require that his brothers never learn how he did it. They must _never _know.

Raph gulped, and tightened his fists. In order to make this effective, he was going to have to…to cry.

At that moment, the woman in charge of him came in the door.

* * *

"So you're telling me that you and Raph went into the enemy headquarters to look for a cure?" Donnie asked, casually twirling his bo staff while staring hard at his brother.

"Um, yeah," said Mikey, fidgeting nervously on the rooftop.

"And what exactly did you tell Raph that this was the cure for?"

"Um, well, you see," Mikey began, twiddling his thumbs.

"And furthermore," continued Donnie, sounding exasperated, "why did you abandon my new aircraft underwater? I can't retrieve it unless it's above ground."

"Hey, we didn't think you were going to _use _it," said Mikey, "We thought you abandoned it."

"You mean _you _thought that," said Donnie, using his finger to poke his brother in the chest, "_Raph _has the mind of a seven year old, and has no idea what is going on. You _dragged _a seven-year-old Raphael into the _middle of an enemy building, _Michelangelo! Don't you _dare _give me excuses!"

Mikey was about to mention that Raphael had recovered his memory, but Don continued.

"I had to leave _April _with the job of telling Master Splinter that two of his sons were captured while I rushed over to help you, Mikey!" Don said.

"Wait, you called _April_ to come all the way to the lair to tell Master Splinter? Why didn't you tell him yourself while you were there?" Mikey asked.

"That's not the point!" Donnie said, a little too defensively, "The _point _is that two of our brothers are trapped in an enemy building, and I have no access to the airplane sub. What are we going to do to get our brothers out of there?"

Mikey had opened his mouth and was about to answer, when Donnie suddenly silenced him. He then did a small sweep of the roof, looking very carefully into the crevises.

"What is it?" Mikey asked aloud.

"Quiet," Don answered, using hand signals, "Don't talk here. I think this roof is bugged."

Mikey sighed, and began signing back to suggest they should discuss a plan somewhere else.

Looks like he wasn't going to tell Don about Raph's memory just yet. Who knows who might be listening?

* * *

Leo groaned as he woke up. It was dark, cold, and clammy, and on top of that something smelled.

"Wha-?" he asked groggily, moving to get up.

But the movement of chains near his head told him that his hands were tied.

"Great, just great," Leo said, talking to the floor.

He was lying on his front in a prison somewhere. But where? It didn't feel like a Foot prison. Nor a Triceraton prison. Not even an Elantean prison. So it must be some other prison. Which one? And what part of the galaxy was he in? Was he still on Earth? If he could only remember the last thing he was doing, he might be able to remember…

Of course! It was a Purple Dragon Prison. He was in a Purple Dragon Prison in New York, and the Purple Dragons had captured Raph.

Raphael. That little troublemaker! Hopefully they were treating Raph better than they were treating him. With a bit of luck he was okay. What was it they had planned for him? Whatever it was, he needed to get out. Escape. His brother was counting on him…

Leo tried to sit up, but groaned as the chains proved too short and forced him back down. So much for the direct method of escape. He was going to have to find a way around this.

A door creaked open, and judging by the incoming light, someone was opening the door to his prison. Probably Hun. Leo closed his eyes and braced himself for pain, but nothing happened. The door just closed again.

Leo didn't relax just yet, however. Someone was in the room with him.

"Hey Leo," said a voice.

Leo opened his eyes.

"Raph?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Raphael, who moved closer around to the front of Leo's chains, so that Leo could see him, "How are ya holding up?"

"Just woke," said Leo, "Chained, but not too bad. You?"

Raph crouched down next to his brother and examined the chains. It was so strange to see him do that, because he was such a small kid. Leo didn't think he would ever get used to his brother being a seven-year-old. But as his brother frowned at the chains, Leo frowned at something else he saw on his brother.

"Mikey let you take _weapons_?"

Raph smiled. "Couldn't leave home without any," he said, taking one of the two large sais from his belt, "And the funny thing is, these goons keep forgetting ta take them away from me. Hang on, I think I got this,"

"You _think_?" Leo asked, "Raph, if you're thinking of breaking those chains with that sai, _don't_. Please."

"Relax Leo," said Raph, rolling his eyes, "I got this. Now hold still so I don't hit ya by mistake."

Leo gulped, than closed his eyes as his brother hit the chain with the sai.

Miraculously, it broke the chain, and at the same time it didn't hit Leo.

Almost as if Raph had remembered how to properly use his own weapons.

"Thanks Raph," said Leo, taking the sai out of Raph's hands with his newly-freed one, "I'll take it from here."

"Fine," huffed Raph, only because he wasn't strong enough to take Leo on just yet, "Just give it back when you're done."

Leo finished freeing himself, but instead of giving back the sai he placed it in his own belt 'for safekeeping'. To his credit he left Raph one sai 'for emergencies'. Raphael was more than angry at this turn of events, but after losing his sai to Leo, and after a lengthy battle of tongues, the two finally agreed that it was time to escape.

"So Raph," said Leo, rubbing a sore ankle where the chain had been especially harsh, and all the while looking over the prison to find the best route of escape, "How did you get them to let you visit me in the first place?"

Leo could have sworn Raph turned pale. "Oh, um," he said, "I improvised."

* * *

The Purple Dragon lady in charge of Raphael, a woman named Zelda, looked completely stolid as she stood against the wall outside of Raph's bedroom prison. She looked completely unnatural, considering that her nose was barely two centimeters away from a stick wielded by a giant green turtle.

"I'm going to ask you once more. Where is he?" the turtle asked.

"You'd better tell him," said the other turtle, the one with the orange mask.

The woman laughed, finally allowing herself to speak.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, "You already know he's not in this room. If you harm me you won't ever see him again. And I know you won't harm me, so why bother telling you anything?"

"Listen lady," said Donnie, "Do you know how much pain I can inflict with this thing without seriously harming you?"

"If a little pain stopped me, do you think I'd be with the Purple Dragon's right now?" Zelda asked, "You can't touch me, turtle."

"You know," said Mikey, getting impatient with this standoff, "My brother here is a computer whiz. He can completely change every grade you got in high school and even college, if you went to college."

"You-you wouldn't!" the lady gasped, "That-that is _low!_"

"Then I suggest you start talking," said Donnie, pressing his bo staff up to actually touch the woman's nose.

"Fine!" she said, "He started bawling and screaming that he wanted to see his, ahem, _uncle_ Leo. Typical tantrum. So we brought him there. Happy?"

"Not quite," said Donnie, "Where are they?"

"How should I know?" Zelda asked, "I'm only here for the kid. They're somewhere in this building. But I suggest you hurry," she warned, her eyes narrowing, "_He_ won't be around for much longer."

"What is _that _supposed to mean?" asked Mikey.

"I can't tell you," said the woman, "That would take the fun out of everything, wouldn't it? I'd say you only have about, oh, half an hour."

Donnie growled, and threw a smoke bomb on the ground. When the smoke cleared and she finally stopped coughing, the woman named Zelda was all alone in the middle of the hallway.

"We'd better hurry Mikey," Don said, "There's no telling how long we have until she activates the security alarm!"

Mikey _was _running, but he suddenly stopped.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Donnie asked.

"Raph just threw a major tantrum to get to Leo," Mikey explained, "A _tantrum!_ Bwahahahaha!"

Donnie groaned and slapped his brother behind the head, in the place affectionately termed the dope-smack-spot.

"He's a kid and he's scared," Donnie said, "Don't laugh at him! Now be quiet, or you'll get both of us caught!"

Taking the lead once more, Donatello traversed the hallway ninja-style with his brother smiling behind him.

But Mikey was still laughing internally, because he knew that Raph wasn't actually a kid anymore.

* * *

"Good job," said Leo as Raph unlocked the prison door with his sai and opened it from the outside, "I _knew _you would fit through that air vent!"

"Yeah, well, I'm never doing that again," Raph said, rubbing a cobweb off his arm before placing the sai back in his belt, "Too many bugs." He shuddered at the memory.

"Now," said Leo, looking down the hallway, "We have to leave before the Foot and the Purple Dragons both realize we've escaped. Which way is the exit?"

"Not yet," said Raph, "First we're gonna get what we came for."

"What?" Leo asked.

"Mikey and me came for somethin' from the labs here," Raph said.

"No," said Leo, shaking his head, "I don't know what Mikey was thinking, but you're too young for this. We're getting you out of here and we're getting you home. Master Splinter must be worried sick by now."

He reached for Raph's hand, but Raphael shook his head and kept his arm out of reach.

"Leo, I'm stayin' until we get what we came for," he said, "It's important."

"We're going home, Raphael," said Leo, sounding so calm that he almost sounded tired.

Leo finally managed to snag Raph's wrist with his hand, and began pulling him towards the area he knew to lead towards the exit. Raph, meanwhile, tried pulling the other way, towards the labs.

"Leonardo, let me go!" Raph said, trying for the sake of their safety to yell quietly, "I didn't fall out of an _airplane _and go through all _this_ only to give up at the last minute!"

Raph realized his mistake only a second after he spoke the words. Leo stopped, both feet firmly planted on the ground. How did Raphael know about the airplane? Unless…

He didn't even turn to look at his brother when he asked his question.

"What?" Leonardo asked, tightening his hold on his brother's wrist.


	16. Worst Day Ever

_Well, astonishingly enough, here is another chapter! Hopefully Leonardo isn't too out of character here._

* * *

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"Did you say something about an airplane, Raph?" Leo asked, his tone deceptively calm.

"Shell," Raph said, slapping his forehead with his free hand. There was only one thing to do: admit it and get it over with.

"Of _course_ I said something about an airplane." He said. A feeble attempt to start explaining everything, but it was an attempt nonetheless.

Leo turned to face his brother, letting go of his wrist in the process, and unconsciously knelt down to speak to him at eye level.

"Raph," he said, "What do you remember?"

"Will you stand up? You're embarrassing me," said Raphael, silently wishing his voice didn't sound like that of a little turtle child, "I remember everything."

"Define _everything_." Leo said, standing up and crossing his arms.

"Everything," Raph said, rolling his eyes, "Life, the lair, New York, hangin' with Casey, hangin' with you guys. The mission I was on with Mikey while you an' Don were held up on shore. How we all got into the airplane Donnie built. When I had to close the door from the outside 'cause it was broken. How I jumped off the wing-"

"Wait, you _jumped_? Of your own free will?" Leo asked.

Raph huffed, and crossed his arms.

"Quit worrying. I'm alright, aren't I? I landed on the submarine," he said.

"What submarine?" Leo asked.

"You mean ya didn't see it?" Raph asked, "There was a Purple Dragon submarine under the airplane, closing in fast. I jumped to slow it down. And it worked, kinda. I'm guessing you didn't crash into it when the airplane went into underwater mode, or whatever, so I did my job, didn't I?"

Leo didn't say anything, but stood as still as a statue.

"Didn't you know I fell into the sub's reactor or something? Dang, that hurt. That's why they want me, anyway, in case you missed that too," Raph said, "But I know they've been making an antidote, and I know where it's probably being kept. That's why Mikey and me came here, Leo. So let's hurry up and get the antidote, find Mikey and get the shell out of here!"

Leo stood there, still silent.

"You know," said Raph, getting annoyed, "I'm not leaving without getting that antidote first. With or without you."

Leo didn't move a muscle.

"We'd better get out of here before they notice we're missing, Leo," said Raph.

His brother was still unmoving.

"Leo? Are you alright, bro?" Raph asked, becoming anxious.

Without responding, Leo grabbed Raphael-to his great dismay-and ran down the hallway in the direction of the labs. At the nearest door he opened it, threw them both inside and closed it, before collapsing onto the ground.

It was a closet.

"Leo! What the shell-" Raph began, but stopped when he saw what Leo was doing.

Leo, hunched up in a corner of the closet, was crying silently. He was actually crying.

"Leo?" Raph asked, coming as close to his brother as possible without intruding on his personal space.

Leonardo grabbed his 'little' brother into a hug, and began sobbing. Needless to say, Raphael was confused to no end. This was completely uncharted territory.

"Um, Leo, no offense," he said, "But can you _let me go_?"

Leo didn't seem to hear. His only thought was the need to hold onto his brother, and his only other action was to cry.

"Leonardo, you're scaring me bro," said Raph, for once being able to admit that he was scared.

But it seemed as if Leo was in a different world, and he continued crying.

"Oh for the love of Mikey," Raph said, sighing. He reached his short arms around his brother, and began talking to him. "Hey, hey, it's okay," he said, "I'm here, Leo. I've always been here. You can stop crying now."

It was strange that he was the one to comfort his brother. Who would have guessed it? And in a closet in Purple Dragon headquarters, no less. While looking like a seven year old.

Yep, he would have never guessed it. And he hoped that, when this was over, it would never happen again.

* * *

"What did that woman mean when she said that _he _wouldn't be around much longer? Who is _he_?"

"Mikey, focus!" said Donnie, turning to glare at his brother as best as he could without falling off the ceiling they were crawling on. "We're here to find Leo and Raph, remember? They could be anywhere in the building. We can worry about the cryptic messages later."

"We should check the labs." said Mikey.

"Really, Mikey, that sounds like an interesting hypothesis," said Donnie sarcastically, "The best place for a prison _must _be in a highly-breakable and extremely sensitive laboratory. Of course, how stupid of me not to have seen it before!"

"Come on, shouldn't they have escaped by now?" Mikey said, "They're either in a prison, heading for an exit or heading for the labs. So if we can't find the prisons, we might as well try the labs."

"What makes you think that they're heading for a lab?" Donnie asked.

"Um," said Mikey.

"Nevermind, don't answer," said Donnie, "I'm not in the mood for you to give me a headache right now. But you _might _be on the right track. If we can find the labs, I can easily whip up a few things to help us out."

Mikey grinned. "This is going to be fun," he said.

Donnie suddenly stopped in the middle of the ceiling.

"Do you hear that?" he asked, "There's a whole lot of activity up ahead. With a _lot _of people."

Mikey crawled up behind him and whispered as loudly as he could, "Should we go see what's going on?"

* * *

Raph paced the small closet, once more cursing his small height and the inability to jump onto the ceiling. His hands kept returning to his sides, fingering both of his sais. He was glad that Leo had given him the other one back.

The door opened and Raph tensed, ready for battle. But it closed half a second later, and a panting Leo stood in the dark in front of him.

"Ya got it?" he asked.

Leo nodded, his silhouette barely visible in the closet. It was nice to see that he was his old self again. Raphael had absolutely no idea what to do with him when he had been crying.

"Yes," he said, "I checked three times. This is it."

"Let's hope it works," said Raph, "Where is it?"

Leo handed him a small vial. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, "There's no way to test it first."

Raphael chose not to answer, and tore off the lid. He quickly downed the contents of the vial, making faces as he did so. The thing tasted terrible.

"Fah," he said, throwing the empty vial onto the ground.

"That bad, huh?" asked Leo, retrieving the empty vial. Donnie might want to look at it later.

"Worse than your cooking," Raph teased.

"Ouch," said Leo, completely unhurt by the comment, "So do you feel anything?"

Raph was silent for a minute. "No," he said finally, his shoulders sagging, "When I first changed, back on the sub, I was in a lot of pain. But I don't feel anything now. I don't think it worked."

Leo groaned and sat down. "I knew it was a longshot, since the makers of that supposed antidote are the Purple Dragons and the Foot. We'll just have to see what Donnie can do about it then," he said, "In the meantime, we'd better get out of this building."

"Yeah," said Raph, "Speaking of which, how are we gonna do that?"

"Hm," said Leo, "The Foot are probably covering the exits. The roof too. The Purple Dragons will be more conspicuous, probably roaming the hallways."

"That leaves down," said Raph, "Donnie's airplane-and-underwater-thing is probably still where Mikey and me left it under the building."

"Good, but how are we going to get to it?" Leo asked.

"We could take the stairs," said Raph.

"Ha ha. Very funny. But where did you park the thing?"

"Can't tell you here," Raph explained, "We just need to get to the stairs, and it's easy to get to it from there."

"Alright," said Leo, "You take the lead. We need to know where we're going, and get there fast."

Leo moved towards the door, but before he could open it, it opened itself.

Not good. _So _not good. He backed up instantly as a familiar figure filled the doorway.

"Well," said the towering form of Hun, speaking sarcastically, "So nice to see you again, turtles! We were wondering where you were hiding."

Leo took a fighting stance, standing protectively in front of his weakened brother.

"And you thought you could escape me," said Hun, speaking to Leo, "Don't worry, we'll take good care of the young turtle while he's in our care."

"Over my dead body," said Leo, growling. He reached for his katanas-but discovered they weren't there. They must have been taken away when he was captured.

Why had he not noticed until now? Shell, this was bad.

"As much as I would love to take you up on your offer, the time is not right for that now." Hun responded. He gestured behind him, and a quick dart flew into the room. It hit Leo in the arm, and he promptly toppled over, quickly succumbing to the dart. Within seconds he was unconscious.

"Such a shame, really," said Hun, easily catching Raph with one hand, "I would have loved to see him try."

"Let me go, you oversized garbageman!"

"You had better be quiet if you know what's good for you, brat," said Hun, walking out of the room. For the first time, Raph saw that the outside hallway was filled with both Foot and Purple Dragon scum.

"Take care of the one in the closet," Hun commanded, "You know what to do. Follow the plan. I, in the meantime, am going to take care of this one."

Plan? What plan? What was going on?

"Let me go!" Raph said, attempting to kick and bite his way out of Hun's grasp. He had to get to Leo. Had to find out what they were going to do to him. He had to-

"You're going to have to try harder than that, turtle," Hun chuckled, repositioning Raphael so that he was being held under the crook of Hun's very large and very smelly armpit.

Raph, feeling very angry and very ineffectual at escaping his captor, decided to try the exact opposite approach that a ninja should take. He began shouting and yelling at Hun in a vain attempt to get placed on the ground again.

"Quiet, brat," said Hun, his looks threatening to beat Raphael into the ground, "I'm trying to think of your punishment. How would you like it if I took away _all_ of your toys?"

Oh great. They still thought he was a child. This day just keeps getting better and better.

_And_ it suddenly got even better. As Hun carried him down the hallway under one armpit, Raphael just _had _to look up at the ceiling. There, hidden among pipes along the ceiling, were Donnie and Mikey. He knew they wouldn't rescue him then and there, while Hun was surrounded by Foot ninjas and Purple Dragons. Not that they could actually take Hun even if he was alone, of course. So they were just staying silent and still, eyes open wide, watching their dear brother Raphael get manhandled by Hun.

Yup. Today was the worst day ever.


	17. Two Sets of Labs

_Thank you guys so much for your awesome reviews, favs, and follows! Ecce, another chapter! _

* * *

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"What do we do, Donnie?" Mikey whispered, careful to keep his voice low so that no one beneath them would look up to discover them on the ceiling.

"I'm not sure," answered Don, "We should probably follow them, but I'm not sure how we're going to get Raph away from Hun."

"Okay," said Mikey, starting to slowly crawl forward.

"Hang on," said Don, "I think I hear more coming down the hall."

The two were silent as a company of Foot ninja swept down the hallway beneath them. Mikey almost gave away their hiding place when he realized that they were carrying an unconscious Leo between them, but Donnie had migrated to his side and covered his mouth before he could let out the tell-tale gasp that would have brought the entire company of ninjas upon them.

Leo groaned, and the ninjas stopped, ready to act if he regained consciousness.

"I feel almost sorry for this one," one of the Foot below them said, "Such a worthy adversary should not meet such a dishonorable end."

"Yet it is good that he arrived," said another Foot, "Our allies, the Purple Dragons, were waiting for such a volunteer."

Leo was silent, having slipped back into unconsciousness. His head fell at an odd and uncomfortable angle, but one of the ninjas repositioned it.

"Why do you show kindness to your enemy?" a fellow ninja asked.

"He won't last much longer," said the ninja, "And some small honor is due to such a great warrior."

The ninjas, having unanimously decided that their momentary break was over, hastened their steps and disappeared down the hallway.

"Donnie," said Mikey, "That's just what the girl said, _he won't last much longer_."

"Think she was talking about Leo?" asked Don.

"Yeah," said Mikey.

"Me too," said Don, "She said we had half an hour, and it has been twenty minutes. We have ten left. Raph might be scared, but the Dragons haven't harmed him yet. We should go save Leo."

Mikey nodded, and a grin covered his face.

"Last one after the Foot ninjas is a rotten egg!" he taunted, and quickly disappeared along the ceiling of the hallway.

Don shook his head and groaned. How did Mikey _do _it?

* * *

Raph was crushing his own hands as he formed them into fists. If only he could reach his sais, he could fight himself out of Hun's clutches. Yet the simple problem that he was currently being crushed under the arm of said Hun prevented him from reaching his weapons.

He knew what was going to happen now. They were going to take him back to his 'room,' give him a toy or two, realize that he had his sais, take away his sais, lecture him like Leo would, promise him no dessert, and make him think that they were not the enemy.

He wasn't going to let them know he had regained his memory, but if one more person treated him like a child, even though he looked like one he knew he was going to go crazy.

Maybe he could hide his sais under the bed before they realized that he still had them…

Hang on, why were they going down _this _hallway? The way to the room was down the other hall…

Oh shell. Not good. They were taking him the labs!

"Now Raphael," said Hun, trying to speak nicely, "You were very naughty to escape today, but I forgive you. It would be cruel to leave you in your room all the time, so we are going to go play a few games in the lab. Won't that be fun?"

Raph gulped, but chose not to say anything.

"The silent treatment, huh?" said Hun perceptively, "Cheer up, frea-uh, kid. By the time we're done, you'll be just_ begging_ to play a few more games."

At that moment they arrived at the door to the labs, and Hun pushed it open with his free hand.

* * *

"Here is your subject." a Foot ninja said, dropping Leonardo unceremoniously on the ground. Leo, still unconscious, did not stir.

"Good," said the Purple Dragon, crossing his arms as he faced the ninja, "We'll take it from here. You jumping shadows can leave now."

"We will leave," said the lead ninja, "But we want your promise to be remembered."

"Yeah yeah, sure thing," said the Purple Dragon, waving his hand dismissively, "You will get a share in the results, don't worry."

"We had better," said the ninja, "Otherwise our Master will have a few words to say to your leader Hun."

The Purple Dragons looked like they were going to give some kind of nasty response, but the Foot made certain they had the last word by leaving quickly and silently.

"Urgh, freakin' ninjas," said the Dragon, "You, and you. Pick up the freak and take him to the secondary labs. Follow the plan, slugheads!"

"So," whispered Mikey, who had watched the entire exchange, "The Foot are gone?"

"Yes Mikey," whispered Don, "The Foot are out of the equation."

"So, we just follow the Purple Dragons now?"

"Yes Mikey," said Donnie, "We just have to follow them to the labs."

Suddenly, Don froze.

"What is it?" Mikey asked.

"He said _secondary _labs," Don said, "There are two sets of labs around here."

"So?"

"So," said Don, "What would they be doing with a second set of laboratories? What could they _possibly _contain that they can't put in the first set of labs?"

"Let's find out when we get there bro," said Mikey, "Hurry up, the Purple Dragons are on the move!"

* * *

"There now. Are you comfy?" Hun asked, slightly adjusting the straps holding the turtle-child down.

"No." said Raph, contemplating spitting at his captor.

"Well, I'd _like _to take away the straps," said Hun, trying to sound friendly, "but I'm afraid we have to use the needle, and we both know how you are around needles."

Raphael shivered. As a child he had always hated needles. He liked to think he grew out of it, but in reality, he could just tolerate them really well. Sometimes.

"Now Doctor, are you ready?" Hun asked.

Great. How could he have forgotten? The Dragons tried to make going to the labs seem like a treat, but the so-called 'doctor' was a creep.

The doctor wasn't technically a Purple Dragon, but he was always very sympathetic to them. From what he had gathered during his earlier stay, Raph finally realized that from the way this guy talked that he could not have been a very good doctor. He complained frequently about his license being revoked for sanitation issues, and about how he hated children.

"This is going to sting, so close your eyes," said the doctor, piercing Raph's skin with a needle, "We are only going to extract a blood sample for-uh, just because. Er, the flu is going around, I think. Um, we need a sample."

"Are you done yet?" Raph asked, his eyes tightly closed.

"Not yet…there. Done."

Raph gave an audible sigh of relief, which wasn't acting.

"You don't like needles," said the Doctor, handing Raph the small bag of red blood to hold while he put some of his tools away, "I don't either. They're often unsterilized, and pose great risks for infection. You should really consider not using them."

Thanks a lot, Doc. Say that _after _you've inserted the needle. Although Donnie might argue differently about what he just said, but then again, Don was always very careful about sterilizing stuff.

The Doctor went to a small cabinet and pulled out a needle, which he placed in his pocket. He then moved to a glass refrigerator and pulled out a small vial of something, which he also placed in his pocket.

"Strange," he muttered, "I am missing the twin."

"The what?" asked Hun.

"I made two identical concoctions," said the Doctor, "One is missing."

"Probably on a lower shelf," Hun answered.

The Doctor shrugged.

"I'll look for it later," he said, "In the meantime, our young Raphael needs to play a few games."

The Doc took the blood sample back from Raph and put it away somewhere. He walked behind the thing Raph was strapped to and began pushing it forwards.

"Master Hun will be in charge, I have other matters to attend to. Won't that be fun?" The Doc said.

Raph knew what was next. _I spy _to test his eyesight, some lame gamein the gym to test his physical skills,and several laboratory games designed to test his mental capacity and reasoning skills.

Wait, test his mental capacity? Shell. That meant they would discover that his memory was...shell. How was he going to fake his way out of this one?

* * *

Donatello and Michelangelo hid behind a lab bench in one of the secondary labs. Donnie was keeping lower than Mikey so that his bo staff wouldn't protrude above the bench. Aside from Leonardo and the Purple Dragons who had brought him there, the lab was devoid of life. In one corner there was a giant machine, which hissed and sighed loudly. Donnie had no idea what it was, but he noticed that everyone in the room kept carefully away from it.

He wondered curiously if it was radioactive.

"Are we certain that the machine is ready to be tested?" one of the Dragons asked, "What if it explodes?"

"The Doc said it wouldn't explode," said another Purple Dragon.

"Then why did he put it here, on the far side of the building?" another person asked.

"Because he wanted it to be secret, idiot," said a third Dragon, "And while the machine may not be perfectly calibr-cal, er, celebrated,"

"_Calibrated_, you numbskull," Donnie muttered quietly.

"…It should still do the job," the Dragon finished.

"So what about him?" asked the first Dragon, tapping the still-unconscious Leo with his foot.

"He probably won't survive the procedure," said the third Dragon, "But the Doc will be able to see for certain if the machine works or not, and if it _does _work, he can celebrate it so that we can actually use it."

Mikey tapped Don on the shoulder, and gestured towards the door. Don nodded, and the two silently made their way out of the room.

"Well?" Don asked, when he was certain that the closet they were hiding in was safe.

"I need Geek Speak," said Mikey, "What's going on?"

Donatello slapped his forehead. "Seriously Mikey," he said, "Those goons out there are just as clueless as we are."

"But what's _happening_?" Mikey asked.

"All I know is that they plan to use Leo as a guinea pig," said Donnie, watching his brothers face light up with understanding and horror.

"Come on," said Mikey, his face hardening, showing his rarely-seen serious expression, "We're going to rescue him, _now_."

Donnie followed Mikey out of the closet and back into the room. But their previous hiding place was compromised; a new figure was in the room, and standing right where they had previously been hiding. So they split up to find a suitable place in the shadows.

"I can't understand it," the new figure said, "One vial of the antidote is missing."

"You must have just misplaced it Doc," said one of the Dragons, "You don't need it, do you? I mean, he probably won't even survive the machine."

"Well, we must be prepared, mustn't we?" said the Doctor, pulling out a vial and a syringe, "If he _does_ survive the procedure, we want to see if the antidote will work. I have an identical antidote with me, but I wish I knew what happened to that missing vial."

Mikey signaled Don, and the two once more snuck out of the room.

"What is it now, Mikey?" Don asked, "I don't know any more than you do about what is happening."

"But I do," said Mikey, "The antidote is for Raph, right? The one they were making to turn him back? So that machine is supposed to turn Leo into a kid, like what happened to Raph, and then they want to try turning him back."

Donnie opened his mouth, but closed it again.

"Mikey," he said, after a few seconds of silence, "I actually think that you're right."

"So what do we do now?" Mikey asked.

"We have to get him out of there fast," said Don, his resolve unwavering, "Without gathering too much attention to ourselves and bringing the entire Purple Dragon armada down on us. Any ideas?"

Mikey tapped his chin, and smiled.

"Actually…"

"No Mikey," said Don, rubbing his forehead with two fingers, "Pretending to be a pizza delivery man isn't going to work right now. We're _inside _the building, for Pete's sake."

Mikey's face fell. After a few seconds of thinking Don stood up, mindful of his bo staff in the enclosed closet, and opened the door just a little to peek beyond it.

"I have a plan," Donnie said, "This might seem really, really crazy. But I think it just might work."


	18. In and Out

_S_o _someone was talking to me about TMNT and mentioned the Purple One, Leonardo. Thought Purple was Leo because Leonardo da Vinci was the great inventor! Makes sense, actually. Wonder why the creators didn't think of that? And who else besides me had a hard time getting their names right when first watching the show, anyway? Anyhow, here is another chapter for you!_

* * *

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

"Seriously Don," whispered Mikey angrily, "I think the pizza delivery idea was better than _this_."

"Will you keep quiet and get going?" Donnie whispered, "We have to make this quick, before they experiment on Leo."

"Fine," said Mikey, giving an intense stare in the direction of the air vents, "But you owe me one."

"Alright," Donnie whispered, "Let's recap. Here's the plan: in and out. Out with Leo. Without a trace. And quickly."

"You make it sound so easy," Mikey groaned, "_I _have to do all the hard part."

Donnie scoffed, but decided that verbally fighting with Mikey would take too long.

"Just get going already, we don't have much time."

Mikey took a deep breath, and let out a cheesy smile.

"It's show time," he said, adjusting his fake wig, which in its previous life had belonged to the bottom half of a broom in the closet. He tightened the lab coat that was his disguise and picked up the briefcase they had commandeered from the back of the closet.

With another deep breath, he knocked three times on the door to the lab, then opened it and walked in.

The disgustingly clean smell of Lab instantly assailed him. The sound of humming from the corner reached his ears, and the dirty Purple Dragons seemed very out-of-place as they worked together to move Leonardo into the foreboding-looking machine. He was already being placed half-inside the machine, and he looked so innocent as he "slept" that Mikey half-wondered how evil someone had to be to hurt his brother.

He stopped wondering when he realized that three pairs of eyes were staring at him, very annoyed and very dangerous.

"Um, hi," he said, facing the two Purple Dragons holding his brother, and the corrupt doctor.

He _really _hoped that they wouldn't see through his broom-closet disguise. _And _that they would believe the story Don had made up. And he _hoped_ it would give Don the time to do what he was supposed to do.

"What are _you _doing here?" one of the Dragons asked, scowling at him.

"Um," said Mikey, setting down the briefcase.

"This is a forbidden area," the other Dragon said, "No one is allowed in here but us."

The two Dragons finished placing Leo inside the machine and closed the door. It locked. They then approached Mikey, pounding their fists into their hands to emphasize what they were going to do to him.

"Get this over with soon, we're behind schedule," the doctor told the Dragons.

"With pleasure," one Dragon said.

"Um, you can't do that," said Mikey lamely.

"Why not?" the doctor asked.

If Mikey could have, he would have taken a giant, enormous breath. Alright. Time to put those awesome Mikey acting skills to use!

"Because," he said, _really _thinking that Donnie's idea now sounded _really_ lame, "I'm from the IRS. And there's been a problem with your taxes lately."

* * *

Raph huffed as he raced around the track for what seemed like the tenth time. Why was Hun pushing him so hard? This was only a test, for Mikey's sake.

Unless Hun was trying to tire him out so that he wouldn't try to escape. Yup, that was it. When this was over he was going to need some serious rest.

"That's enough, frea-I mean, um, Raphael," said Hun, smirking as Raph bent down and panted for breath, "It's time to play some games in the lab."

Raph internally groaned. This was exactly what he had been dreading this whole time. The mental exams.

They were going to notice that he wasn't such a kid at heart anymore. And when they noticed, they weren't going to keep up their nice act.

And considering his smaller size and muscle mass, this meant that he would have a slightly harder time fending off their attacks.

"Come here," Hun said, pushing him into a room, "We're going to play a little chess. Just like we did before you left us, remember?"

Raph managed to smile as he sat down across the table from no one less than Hun himself. All of the other Dragons left the room, and Hun instructed them to lock the door.

When Hun wasn't looking, Raph gulped.

"Um," Raph managed to say, "You first."

Hun smiled mischievously, and moved a pawn.

Raphael carefully examined the board.

He truly wished Leo would wake up already, escape from wherever he was being held, and come rescue him. Because this was pure torture. And after that insane physical exam, he knew that he was tired enough to make a mistake.

Raph decided that the best way to survive would be to mimic a previous chess battle he had played with Hun in the past. A battle which he had lost, and lost badly.

He carefully moved a pawn.

* * *

The IRS. And something about Taxes. That's what Donnie had told him to say, right?

One of the Dragons cocked his head, and looked at the other in confusion.

Great. They had no idea what that meant.

"Um," Mikey said. He couldn't remember what the initials stood for. What had Donnie called that thing again?

"He means the Internal Revenue Service," the Doctor interceded, glad to lord it over the Dragons.

"Yeah, that," said Mikey, glad _someone _knew what it was.

"Wait," said one of the Dragons, "You're here to tax us?"

"Um, yeah," said Mikey.

"Why did you come into the lab instead of knocking on the door of the building?" the other Dragon asked.

"Um, because, uh, you see, um, that new machine in the corner needs to be taxed."

"No it doesn't," said the doctor, confused, "I built it myself. From stolen parts, I might add."

"Listen," said Mikey, "Are you going to argue with Uncle Sam?"

"He means the Government," one of the Dragons helpfully whispered to the other.

Behind the backs of the doctor and the two Purple Dragons, Mikey could see that Donnie was slowly unscrewing the screws that held the air vent in place. He needed to give him enough time to get this done.

"Er, no," said the doctor, answering Mikey's question.

"Then," said Mikey, "How much money does that thing cost?"

"Ten grand," said the doctor.

"Yup, just as I thought," said Mikey, "That means you owe ten thousand dollars in taxes."

"Hey, wait a minute!" said the doctor, "It doesn't work that way!"

"Are you saying you know my job better than I do?" Mikey asked, "_Fifteen _thousand dollars."

"What! You can't just raise the tax!"

"_Twenty _thousand."

"Alright, listen." The doctor began to speak civilly, "Let's discuss this maturely. If you don't take it back down to a reasonable tax, these two Purple Dragons will tear you limb from limb."

"Nuh-uh," said Mikey, "Then they'll get taxed too."

"For what?" one Dragon asked.

"For, um, for your clothes!" Mikey said, "You haven't paid for them, right? So they haven't been taxed yet."

"Listen, I _paid _for all my clothes, even my shoes," one of the Dragons huffed, crossing his arms.

"Alright mister IRS, so what do you want from us?" the doctor asked.

Mikey briefly let his eyes wander back to Donnie. He was kneeling on one knee, fiddling with the machine that held Leo. Better keep these goons from noticing him.

"Like I said, I came to tax that thing," Mikey pointed.

"That's the wrong machine," a Purple Dragon observed.

"I meant _that _one," Mikey pointed in the right direction, "But if you won't cooperate, I'm sure there are other things that need to be taxed around here."

"No!" said the doctor, "Er, we'll cooperate! Just please, don't tax anything else!"

"Ha!" said Mikey, without thinking, "Then, um, I need to see the money now!"

"Hey, that's not how it works!" said the doctor, "Where did you learn how to tax?"

"Twenty-_five _thousand," said Mikey.

"Fine, fine!" said the doctor, "You, on the left! Go get twenty-five grand from the Purple Dragon vault. And make sure to get real money; I think the IRS can track counterfeit."

"Uh, your left or my left?" the Dragon asked.

"My left, you idiot! Now get going!"

There was an awkward ten minutes, during which Mikey attempted to talk about taxing and all of the fake people he's had to tax, and all the famous people he pretended to meet, when the Purple Dragon finally returned with the money around the same time that Don finally broke the lock on the machine.

The doctor then turned to Mikey, "I hope this settles the matter, be sure to report to your superior about this. I don't want to ever see you again. Now get out of here before someone steals this from you."

With a Thank-You-for-your-Service-to-your-Country, a Merry-Christmas and a Happy-Easter, Mikey left with the money. Meanwhile, his first suitcase lay forgotten under a lab bench, ready to be detonated at Donnie's signal.

As soon as the lab door closed behind him, Mikey raced to the broom closet and, once inside, tore off his disguise. Donnie looked up as he entered, but went back to examining Leo. It was amazing, really, how fast Donnie could drag his brother through the vents without making a sound. And how he could do all that and _still_ beat Mikey to the closet.

"Is he going to be alright?" Mikey asked.

"I don't know," said Donnie, "He seems fine. The machine was never turned on. But I don't know what effect the dart that knocked him out might have had on him."

"Do you think it could have done something to his brain, then?" Mikey asked.

"Like I said, I don't know," said Donnie, "But I _really _need to teach you how taxes actually work. You would make a terrible bill collector."

"Thanks," said Mikey cheekily, "So what now?"

"Now?" Donnie repeated, "We should get the shell out of here, before they realize Leo's not in the machine."

"Good," said Mikey.

"And we should leave the money in the closet."

"What?" Mikey asked, "But I made it! It's my _very first_ twenty-five thousand dollars! And I made it all on my own, too!"

"Illegally, I might add," said Donnie, "But we can't carry it around while looking for Raph. Too much of a hassle."

"Fine," said Mikey, setting the briefcase down, "Let's get going, then."

Donnie handed Mikey his bo staff, and carefully placed Leo on his back. Mikey peeked out the closet door.

"Clear," he whispered.

Within seconds, the two of them had disappeared down the hallway. Mikey carried the weapons, and Don carried the brother.

* * *

"Checkmate. I win." Hun announced smugly.

But Raph was not going to let him off so easily.

"No fair!" Raph said, knocking the board off the table, "You cheated!"

"Did not," said Hun, fisting his hand and then slowly unclenching it, "I won fair and square."

"No, you cheated!" Raph said, "I want a rematch!"

"Ugh," said Hun, rubbing his forehead, "Is this turning into a repeat of last month? Because if so, you _know _you're grounded for a week."

"I don't care!" said Raph, jumping onto the table, "I want a rematch!"

"That's it. Enough games for today," said Hun, "If you don't behave, I'm going to send you back to your room and there'll be no dinner tonight."

"I don't care! You cheated, and I want to play again!" Raph said, elated with the idea of skipping the rest of the tests.

Hun attempted to stare down the turtle-child standing before him on the table, but Raphael only stared back.

Then the door turned.

Hun stood up and made a fist. "That door was supposed to be locked," he said.

Suddenly Michelangelo burst into the room, slightly hindered by Don's bo staff on his back crashing against the doorframe. He was shortly followed by Don himself, still carrying Leo.

"Hurry, hurry!" Mikey said, ushering Don in, "They're coming!"

As soon as Don was in, Mikey closed and locked the door.

"That was a close one," Don said, panting for breath.

"Yeah, they nearly saw us there," said Mikey.

He turned around, and for the first time he noticed his surroundings.

"Uh oh," said Mikey, realizing that Hun was in the room, "Um, the good news: we found Raph."

"I can see that," said Donnie, carefully setting Leo down onto the ground. Leo groaned; the first sign of his returning to consciousness. But his brothers had no time to rejoice.

Because at the first sign of the other turtles, Hun had grabbed Raphael by the neck, and he was currently holding his other hand in a naked fist up against Raph's head.

"Now freaks," he said with deadly force, "Give yourselves up, or I may _accidentally_ hit your young friend here."

"No, wait!" said Donnie, "Stop. We give ourselves up, alright?"

"Don't do it Donnie," said Raph, earning himself a tighter grip around the neck.

"Shut up, freak," Hun warned, "Do you even _know _how annoying you are sometimes?"

"Um, Don, I think Raph is up to something," Mikey whispered.

"Mikey, he's seven," Donnie whispered back.

"Put down your weapons and kick them over to me," Hun commanded.

"Alright, we will, just _don't hurt him_," Donnie said, "Drop the weapons, Mikey."

"I don't think I should," said Mikey, watching the glare in Raphael's eyes.

"Mikey. Drop the weapons. Now." said Don.

"You had better do as he says, Michelangelo," Hun said, "Drop the staff and the nunchucks or I will squish little Red here into dust."

Raphael's eyes glinted, and unbeknownst to Hun his fingers itched towards his sais, still in his belt.

"Think again, Hun," Raph said, and to the complete surprise of both Hun and Donatello, Raphael attacked like a trained ninja.

With precision he used one sai to scratch the arm holding him by the neck, and with accuracy he threw his other sai to close the door, which had been in the process of being opened by someone who was presumably a Purple Dragon. Quickly he twirled himself around Hun's other arm, and used his momentum to aim a kick directly at Hun's highly vulnerable nose.

And almost just as quickly, he found his leg caught in mid-air by a very ticked-off Hun.


	19. End

_Well, had a little trouble with the ending, but here it is! Hope you enjoyed the story, and thank you all so much for your reviews, constructive criticism, follows and favs! Heck, thanks for even reading this far! Some have asked for a sequel, but I don't think I am going to write one. But there is another TMNT story in the works, and I might post the first chapter soon..._

* * *

CHAPTER NINETEEN

"Well well," said Hun, still dangling Raph by the leg, "A fighter. How exciting."

"Let me go," Raph said through clenched teeth, attempting to swing a punch at his captor.

"Not likely, freak," said Hun, "I see that you've chosen to give your loyalties to the Turtles."

"Let him go, Hun," said Donnie calmly, "He's just a kid."

"Um, actually Don," Mikey began, but a three-fingered hand covered his mouth before he could finish.

"Mhuh?" Mikey asked, realizing that the hand did not belong to Donnie, "Weo?"

"Be quiet, don't tell Donnie just yet," Leo whispered, groaning internally at a massive headache which had formed in his temple. He could barely stand, but he knew that the dizziness would soon pass.

Donnie had turned around when Mikey began to speak, but smiled when he saw that Leo was conscious. He turned back to face Hun.

"I'd like to make a deal with you, Hun," said Donnie, "A trade. Me for Raph."

"What? No way!" Raph yelled, "Leo, Mikey, don't let 'im do it!"

Mikey attempted to talk, but Leo once more kept him silenced.

"Hm, interesting," said Hun, "What's the catch?"

"No catch," said Donnie, "A simple trade."

"Donny. Don't do it." Raph warned.

"It's a deal," said Hun, throwing Raph towards Mikey and Leo. Mikey just barely caught him. "You for the pipsqueak. You would be able to complete the experiment the Doctor initiated. You do realize that you rescued your brother from the machine, only to give yourself up to it instead!" Hun suddenly began laughing.

"Machine? What machine?" Raphael asked, righting himself and jumping out of Mikey's arms.

Donnie took a deep breath, and stepped forward. "I'm ready," he said.

With a laugh, Leo stepped forward. "_He _may have made a deal," Leo said, "But you just traded away your only bargaining chip."

"That's right," said Raph, standing behind his older brother, "_Donnie _can defend himself."

Quick as lightning, Mikey raced past the room door-which someone was still naively trying to bang open-and grabbed the weapons that were lying on the floor. He picked up his own nunchucks and threw Donnie's staff to Leo. Leo's katanas were somewhere else in the building, having been taken away from him when he was first captured, but he could do just fine with Donnie's staff. Raphael still had one sai, the other was still lodged in the door to keep it closed.

The three turtles brandished their weapons, and Hun smirked.

"One injured and one helpless," he said, referring to Leo and Raph respectively, "Who is to stop me from taking the kid back?"

"We will," said Mikey.

"You made a deal, Hun," said Donnie, staying out of the fight because of the deal.

"The deal is off," said Hun, smiling, "I have all four of you right where I want you."

The Turtles all looked at one another with concern.

Hun walked over to the door and yanked the sai out of the woodwork. The door burst open, and in fell almost every Purple Dragon in the building. The Dragons wasted no time, and focused all of their guns on the four turtles.

"Raphael," said Hun, speaking sweetly to the current youngest, "These turtles are giving you to _us_ to take care of. Tell him, turtles. We are going to take very good care of you, and keep you safe from harm. D-o-o-m is coming, and I'm sure your Uncles will tell you, it's coming for them. They will agree with me that this is only for the grown-ups. So come with us, child, and we will take you to your room."

Donnie gulped. "Um," he said, looking at his brothers, "That might be best. For Raph."

Leo, Mikey and Raph all looked at one another.

"Um Don," said Raph, "I'm staying with you guys. And for the record, I can spell 'doom' just fine."

"Oh, so you can spell now too?" Mikey asked teasingly.

"Shut it, bro!" said Raph, hitting Mikey in the arm.

"Guys, quit it," said Leo half-heartedly. He still had a terrible headache, and didn't want to deal with a fight right now. Especially one right before a fight with the Purple Dragons.

"You quit it," said Raph, "And I ain't going with Hun, Donnie."

"But Raph," said Don, kneeling down to be at eye level with his brother. He looked over and saw Hun impatiently waiting, ready to hurt Raph if he didn't agree to go with them.

"Please go, Raphie," said Donnie, whispering to his brother.

Raph leaned forward and whispered back, "Don't call me Raphie. I ain't a little kid anymore, Don."

Donnie pulled back, astonished. He looked at Leo and Mikey, and then back at Raph.

"Well I guess that settles it," Don said, standing up, "He's not coming with you, Hun."

"Too bad," said Hun, "Dragons, the goggles."

The Purple Dragons all pulled down some funny goggles over their heads, and glared at the turtles with goofy-looking smiles.

"Um, correct me if I'm wrong," said Mikey, "But won't those just get in the way of a fight?"

"Not really," said Donnie, "Those are night vision goggles!"

"You fools," said Hun, "Did you think we would make this easy?"

He took the sai he held in his arm and jabbed it into the lightswitch, simultaneously turning off the light and mauling the switch beyond repair.

Darkness filled the room. No one moved.

"Um, dude," Mikey said, his voice sounding loud and clear, "Hate to break it to ya, but we were _bred _in the dark!"

With that, the battle began. The Dragons all had night vision goggles, but the Turtles were experts at finding their way in the dark. Leo moved quickly past what he knew was a baseball bat, and dodged what sounded like a lead pipe.

"Raph, get as far back as possible," he said, pulling his pint-sized brother out of danger, "Raph! Are you alright? You're shaking."

"'M okay," said Raph tensely.

"Don, here, take Raph," said Leo, dodging another something, "I think he's hurt."

"Got him," said Don, grabbing Raph from somewhere to the left, "Geez, you're burning up! Are you feeling all right?"

Raph was about to respond when Donnie jumped forward to ward off a few attackers.

"Listen," said Don, speaking to Raph, "I need you to sit as far away from the battle as you can, alright? Ugh! Got 'im, ha!" Donnie knocked someone out of the way, "Mikey, take Raph away from the battle, okay?"

"Sure," said Mikey, kicking five or six people nearly at once, "Where is he?"

"Here," said Donnie, handing his brother off to Mikey in the dark, "Sit up against a wall somewhere, okay Raph? I'll give you something for your fever as soon as I can, alright?"

"Raph, are you shivering?" Mikey asked, pulling his brother as close as possible to his side.

"Hurts," Raph responded, jumping along with Mikey so that they both landed on the other side of a goon that tried to attack them.

"I know, sorry bro," said Mikey, "Figures this place would make you sick! It's too damp in here."

"Not…what I meant," said Raph, gasping for breath, "Listen Mikey, we need to escape this place and get home. Can you get to the airplane sub?"

"I guess," said Mikey, "We hid it under the building, right?"

"Right," said Raph, "Leave me by the wall, I'll be fine. You get the plane. Sub. Er, whatever that thing is."

"Got it," said Mikey, leaning his brother against the wall, "Let's hope the Dragons don't realize I'm gone!"

"I'll join you when I'm ready," Raph whispered, smiling. It wouldn't be long now.

The fight continued, minutes dragging on more slowly than eternity.

"Donnie," said Leo, fighting shell-to-shell with his brother, "We need to leave. Where's Raph?"

"Mikey has him," Don answered.

"O-kay. New question. Where's Mikey?"

"He's…" Don stopped, and called out, "Hey, Mikey! Soundoff!"

There was no response.

"Where is he?" Don asked.

A three-fingered hand that was not Donnie grabbed Leo's arm.

"Got him," Leo announced, "Mikey, is Raph with you?"

Suddenly the floor began to shake violently, and all three turtles were knocked to the floor.

"What the shell is _that_?" Leo asked.

"Definitely not an earthquake," Donnie said, "It sounded like something burst through the floor in the hallway."

Still in the dark, Mikey grabbed Leo and pulled him upright, then did the same for Donnie. A good thing too, because the Dragons decided not to stop fighting because of a little bitty earthquake.

"Thanks," Leo said, "Mikey, where's Raph? Did he get lost in the quake?"

Mikey leaned close to Leo's ear, within earshot of Donnie, and said, "Where do you think?"

"_Raph_?" Leo asked, "What happened?"

"Delayed reaction, I guess," said Raph, kicking someone in the gut, "Shell, I don't know."

"Wait, you took the antidote?" Don asked, "How come I didn't see any needlemarks on your arm?"

"Needle?" Raph asked.

"Wait, you _ingested _it?" Donnie asked, "That was _supposed _to be inserted directly into your bloodstream! No wonder it was delayed, you should be happy it even worked at all! How stupid can you be, didn't you even read the label?"

"Um, I'm the one who gave it to him Don," said Leo.

"What, you knew?" said Donnie, "Why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't have bothered to swipe the extra vial."

"There was an extra vial?" Raph asked.

"Yeah. The Doctor had it by the machine."

"Machine?" Raph asked.

"What machine? And did you say 'doctor'?" Leo asked innocently.

"Urgh," said Donnie, "Come on, we've got to get out of here! I'll explain later. Where's Mikey?"

There was the sound of a loud noise, the room shook-light from the hallway burst into the room, and a smiling Michelangelo gazed down at them from her perch on top of Donnie's giant sub-plane. The Purple Dragons were all blinded by the light, giving the turtles enough time to knock out the most immediate ones before rushing to Mikey.

"Hey guys!" said Mikey, "Guess what, the submarine airplane can tunnel too! Oh hey Raph, you're back to normal!"

"Yeah yeah," said Raph, wrenching open the airplane door, "everybody in!"

"Oh no you don't," said Leo, swinging the door out of Raph's hands, "You're going in first, Raphael! I don't want a repeat of last time."

"Fine," Raph grumbled, getting in the plane.

"Better hurry, they're coming up behind us!" said Donnie.

Quickly, the rest of the brothers hopped inside the plane and shut the door.

"I've got the controls," said Donnie, "Who moved the seat so low to the ground?"

"Oh, Raph flew us here," said Mikey.

"What?" asked Leo, "You let him fly when he was seven?"

"Chill, Leo, I'm right here ya know," said Raph, crossing his arms.

"Guys, let's just get out of here before they catch up to us," said Donnie.

"Fine by me," said Mikey.

Donnie yanked the controls, and the airplane took off the ground.

"Ceiling, ceiling!" Mikey warned, but it was too late. The plane crashed through the ceiling and burst into the night sky.

Almost instantly, they were out of sight of the building.

"I think we lost them," said Leo.

"Good," said Donnie, "You can be the one to call Splinter and tell him we're heading home."

Leo groaned, but sighed immediately afterward. "Alright," he said.

Mikey slapped Raph on the back.

"What was that for?" he asked.

Mikey smiled. "We're finally going home," he said, "The way we should have come home in the first place."

* * *

A few days later, the lair was nearly back to normal. Donatello was at the junkyard, and Leo was training. Having given Raph every tease he could think of for acting so much like a child, Mikey was currently hiding from Raph somewhere in the sewers. Everyone accordingly assumed that Raph was also out in the sewers, chasing after the elusive Michelangelo. That was why Splinter was so surprised when Raph entered his room.

"Raphael," he said, surprised.

"Er, am I interrupting anything?" Raph asked.

"Not at all," Splinter said, gesturing for his son to join him on the floor, "I was simply meditating. What troubles you, my son?"

Raph sat down on the floor facing his Sensei.

"They got away," he said, "All of 'em. Hun, the Doctor, everyone."

"Yes," said Splinter, "But Donatello assured me that he sabotaged the machine they built. And I am told that the damage caused when you left the building destroyed all data regarding your malady."

"Yeah," said Raph, fidgeting as he sat, "Um, I didn't like feeling so helpless, Sensei."

"Of course not," said Splinter.

"But there was one thing I liked," said Raph, "It's just that…well…I was actually enjoying the time I spent with you Sensei. Back when I thought I was a kid again."

"That is something that is easily remedied," said Splinter, smiling, "I will always be your father, my son. Age has nothing to do with it."

"Yeah," said Raphael, looking guilty, "But things have changed now."

"Not quite," said Splinter, "For example, I have always wanted a ride on that motorcycle of yours."

Raphael looked at his father, and smiled.

"Right," he said, "And, don't tell anyone, but I'd like to learn how to make that special soup of yours. The kind you always give us when we have a cold."

"You have always liked that soup," Splinter nodded, "Very well. When shall we leave for our motorcycle ride?"

"Whenever you're ready," said Raphael, "I just have to make sure that Leo is out of the way first."

"That is something I can handle," said Splinter, giving Raphael a wink, "Please excuse me while I prepare for our little excursion."

Raphael bowed and left Splinter's room, then walked towards his own to grab an extra helmet.

"Leonardo!" He heard his Sensei call.

"Yes Sensei?" Leo said, rushing into the room.

The door to Sensei's room closed, but Raph leaned forward just slightly to catch what Splinter was saying.

"Leonardo, I have an urgent assignment for you, my son. It will require you to leave the lair for several hours…"

THE END


End file.
